


Waves Carry Us Away

by SlusherM_221B



Series: Oceans In Between Us [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Body Shots, Brief Mention of a Professor/Student Relationship With Minor Characters/Not Related to Story, Brief but Uncomfortable Contact with Someone with a Gender a Character is not Attracted to, Eating Disorder, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Not an Accurate Depiction of College, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Rape/Non-con, Punk Percy, Tattoos, Underage Drinking, Unresolved Sexual Tension, past abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-04 05:47:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 135,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1767730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlusherM_221B/pseuds/SlusherM_221B
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico finally has a chance to leave his life in California behind after a bad relationship and move to New York for a fresh start in life. Although the last thing he was looking for was another relationship, he found himself falling helplessly for the bad boy of SOCU, one Perseus Jackson, who made it his job to try to break Nico out of his shell. What a cliché, but what followed was anything but what would be in a thirteen year old girl’s diary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wednesday, August 20th

**Author's Note:**

> I realize that a lot of this is out of character, but this is my writing and I am taking a lot of creative liberty in writing this. The rating and some of the more intense tags are for later chapters, so PLEASE read the tags. I am a generally salty person with a lot of messed up feels.  
> Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to Uncle Rick, not to me, much to my sorrows; though like I said, I take a lot of creative liberty with my writing.  
> This is not an accurate depiction of American college.  
> Feel free to leave kudos or comments to let me know what you think.

New York is surprisingly like Los Angeles. It’s crowded, loud, and invasive; the only difference is that it’s colder and no one looks you in the eye, one thing he didn’t mind, not one bit. He moved all the way across the United States to get away from his old home, hoping to make a new one, a new life, but he found himself relieved with that small comfort of familiarity, as annoying as it is. However, he was still a little uncomfortable with the multitude of tall buildings that seemed to grow every time he turned his back.

The farthest he had been from home was when they went to Nevada, and he was young then, not old enough to relish the freedom while it lasted. He loved Los Angeles, really, he did, but it’s time he lived his own life and he knew he couldn’t start over fresh while he’s still near his overbearing father, who tries to control every aspect of his life half the time, and spends the other half barely acknowledging his existence.

Leaving his sister was hard; they had never been separated for more than a couple weeks. Bianca was a grown woman though, living on her own and constantly reminding him that she ‘didn’t need him to protect her anymore, dammit’, and that he should start looking out for himself instead. In fact, she was the one that mentioned going to New York and visiting Hazel, their half-sister, in the first place. When he called her around Thanksgiving his senior year in high school, she told him that she was a freshman in college at some school in Manhattan and told him that if he really wanted to get away and start over, but still felt the need to be close to someone, he should check it out. So he did, and it turned out to be just the escape he was looking for.

So at the end of his last summer in L.A. he packed everything he couldn’t possibly live without in the back of his ‘67 Impala his nonno had given him, consequences be damned, and drove cross-country from California, stopping only to refill the gas tank and sleep in truck stops, snacking on Cheetos and Doritos and the occasional Happy Meal every other state, until he reached New York and paid for a dingy hotel room in the suburbs of Manhattan where he slept for three days straight, because _damn_ , who knew driving could take that much out of a person?

It was Wednesday now, the day before his technical first day of college, which is why he found himself sitting in his car with the engine turned off and the couple boxes comprising of his whole life in the back seat, watching hundreds of people swarm the campus of the Second Olympus Celestial University.

He got out of his car and opened the back door to pick up the boxes, piling them on top of each other and slamming the door closed with his hip. Wiggling a little to get better leverage and making sure he felt the jiggle of keys in his pocket, he began to walk through the mental map he memorized before arriving.

The buildings around him were large, but not huge like the industrial and office building ones further in the city. They were graceful and strong with tall marble columns and ornately decorated rooftops and sculpted designs on every surface. There seemed to be statues or fountains or centuries-old looking benches almost everywhere he looked. It felt like he stepped out into Ancient Greece or time traveled in his memories like Billy Pilgrim did, reliving a memory of their home in Venice before his mom died and his dad moved them to the states and became a bitter old recluse.

There were college kids everywhere, throwing footballs, laughing loudly with large groups of friends, squealing and embracing people they haven’t seen since last year. Everywhere he looked there was happiness and inebriated joy on everyone’s faces. It was more than a little sickening. There were bright colors all around, in the clear blue sky, the green lushness of the trees, the flushed faces of those around him-not to mention the fact that the only colors the students seemed capable of wearing were gaudy orange and vomitus purple. He started to feel out of place in his ripped black skinny jeans, worn skull t-shirt, his old aviator jacket that he will probably never completely fill out, and scuffed up converse…until he snapped himself out of it because he remembered he wasn’t suppose to care what others think about him.

He huffed and scowled at the offending bright colors and started to make his way through the crowd. The sun was bright here, no brighter than it was in Los Angeles but he still reached into his back pocket and slipped his mirrored aviator sunglasses over his eyes. He told himself he wasn’t hiding behind them and then mentally growled when his subconscious retorted with a disbelieving snort.

The boxes he was carrying didn’t hold much, but the weight was starting to drain on him, so he was relieved when he passed a sign pointing to a building, labeling it the Anancites Building, the freshman dorms. A girl with long, wavy blond hair carrying a huge textbook ran in front of him and almost sent him and his boxes tumbling to the ground. He caught himself just in time but one of the pictures overflowing from the top of the box fell and cracked on the concrete. The girl turned and continued to trot away from him, now backwards. “I’m sorry!”

He put all the heat he could muster in a glare before he remembered that he was still wearing his sunglasses. Quickly, he puts the boxes down, whips off his sunglasses, and grabs the picture frame, casting a forlorn look at the broken glass. When he stands back up, the girl is tugging on the arm of dark haired boy-scratch that, man.

He might have been dressed like a teenager but he was without a doubt a man. He was wearing black combat boots, dark wash skinny jeans, a rainbow studded belt-I shit you not, rainbow-and a loose muscle shirt that looked like the galaxy threw up on it. His sunglasses were pushed up to his forehead, his dark hair having that just-rolled-out-of-bed look that had to be styled. He could see his tattoos on his open side, but he was too far away to tell what they were. His face was honest and if that smirk was anything to go by, full of mischief. But his eyes-clear and dark from where he waswere full of concern.

He looked like he was about to step towards him, but the girl clutching at his arm gave him a yank and pulled him with her. She looked back at him and yelled “Sorry!” one last time before dragging the man towards the street. His irritation spiked again and he called after her, “Watch where you’re going!”

They were already gone though, running across the street, the guy sending him one last smirk over his shoulder. He sighed and put the picture back in the box. Hopefully he will remember to buy a new frame for it. He hefted the boxes back up and went inside the building.

* * *

   

His dorm room number was 223. He followed a long corridor filled with people ambling in and out of rooms, looking slightly lost, until he found a black door with gold numbering on it signifying it was room number 221. A blond kid and a curly, dark-haired boy were hunched over something explosive looking bubbling in some beakers. Across the hall, the door number 223 was halfway open. He looked around nervously and kicked it the rest of the way open with his foot.

Half of the room was already set up inside, clothes and empty coke cans littering the floor and bed. It was a complete wreck. There’s a boy laying face down on top of the covers, his right leg and arm hanging off the side, looking for all the world like he was a growth extending from the mess he was laying face-first in.

He cleared his throat and placed his boxes on the clean side of the room, deciding to try and rouse the boy. “You’ve been here for a while, then?”

The boy jerked at the sound of his voice and rolled with a loud _thump!_ to the floor. When he sprang up, he looked around until his eyes came to rest on the boy in front of him. He was wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt and an orange beanie that was unsuccessfully trying to hold down his light brown curls. What was with this school and bright colors?

The guy smiled and looked a little shy and confused. “Nope. I just got here a couple hours ago. What makes you say that?” Nico forced a smile on his face and turned back towards his boxes, humming noncommittedly.

The guy was oblivious to his discomfort, or probably more worried about his own, and thrust his hand towards him. “The name’s Grover Underwood. Nice to meet you, roomie.”

He shrugged off his jacket and clasped his hand tightly. “Nico di Angelo.”

“di Angelo, huh? Is that Spanish or something? I love Mexican food! Oh, and coffee and nice veggie burritos. But I guess that’s why I said I love Mexican food. Not the coffee, I meant the burrito. You probably knew that, huh? Anyway, speaking of coffee, this one time…”

Nico stared at him for a good thirty seconds before realizing the monologue wasn’t going to quit, so he turned back to his boxes and started unpacking, mostly tuning out the insistent babbling at his back. He unpacked his clothes and noticed with morbid amusement how dark all his clothing was compared to everyone else’s around here. As he unpacked pictures and trinkets and books he took from home he heard only snippets of the conversation he was supposedly having-‘coffee’, ‘Percy’, ‘ran’, ‘hilarious’, ‘and then uncle…’. He had no idea what he was even talking about anymore, he changes topics so fast. Nervous chatter, he recognized immediately. He used to do the same thing when he was younger.

He took pity on the poor guy and stopped his tirade. “Grover. Dude. That’s a great story and everything, and I’m sure your uncle Ferdinand is a great person, but I’m admittedly more than a little lost here. You mind filling me in a bit?”

He looked relieved with his suggestion and responded quickly. “Yeah, yeah, sure, I can do that.”

Nico sighed in relief, starting up a mental scorecard. Nico 1 Grover 0. “I’m a freshman here, same as you, but I know a lot of what goes down. I have friends in high places, and by that I mean upperclassmen, not like staff or faculty. Or some mystical or godlike beings, not to be rude in mentioning gods, or God, if you're religious. If you’re not, that’s totally fine and my bad. Or if you are that’s my bad as well. Not to make assumptions or anything but isn’t not making assumptions being presumptuous, or whatever…”

Nico sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe it was Nico 0 Grover 2. “Dude.” He looked up and Grover was looking bashful again. “Sorry…”

“Anyway…my best friends, Percy and Annabeth, are seniors here. And I know a lot of juniors and some sophomores too. My girlfriend is a sophomore actually. You’ll probably meet her sometime. Her name’s Juniper, like the tree, and funnily enough she kind of reminds me of a tree. She’s willowy and smells nice and her favorite color is green-”

He paused at Nico’s exasperated look and got back on track. “Yeah. Anyway. I have a lot of friends that have been here for a while so if you need anything, just let me know. Percy, I’ve known him for a while, him and Annabeth, and they’re pretty awesome. I’ll introduce you guys sometime, yeah?”

He gave him a distracted smile and nodded. He tuned him out for a while more, his mind drifting back to L.A. and his sister. He’d have to call her sometime. Let her know he’s settled in… “…you should come.”

Nico furrowed his brow and turned back to him. “What was that? Sorry, I didn’t catch it.”

Grover looked at him hopefully and repeated, “I said that there’s a party this Friday night at my friend Piper’s house. A sort of breaking-in college party. You should come.”

A party…he didn’t really know anybody and partying usually wasn’t his thing. He preferred to stay in on Friday nights and read a book or listen to music in solitude. Socializing…well, that wasn’t his division. Grover was still looking at him expectantly, so he answered as honestly as he could. “Yeah. That sounds…fun. But I’m a freshman. I don’t really know anyone, and I doubt I’d be welcome…”

Grover laughed and rolled his eyes good naturedly at him. “Nah, Perce will get us in. Besides, you’ll know me. And my friends.”

Boy can’t take a hint it seems. “Yeah,” he muttered, “we’ll see. I might be busy though, visiting family and whatnot.” Grover nodded his head and gave him an affirmative response before muttering something about using the bathroom and leaving Nico alone in the dorm.

He felt exhausted already.

He sighed and sat down on the bed, looking at his surroundings. The room was simple but nice. It had two desks facing each other under a large window with red drapes, heavy but light enough for air to drift through. There were two beds on opposite sides of the room, each with a nightstand at the end and a lamp on it. There were two drawers in the nightstand and two larger ones on the underside of the bed. A single but large closet was on the same wall as the door. It was nice. Everything seemed nice here.

He hoped this school wouldn’t turn out to be overwhelming. He needed this place, and as strange as it sounds, it was already starting to feel like home to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dates I am using are from the 2014 calender.  
> I couldn’t help but to throw in a salute to Baby from Supernatural in there; she’s a beautiful car.  
> Nonno is Grandfather in Italian.  
> Happy Meals-yes, he will never outgrow this. Not in this universe.  
> Billy Pilgrim is a character in Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five. It is an excellent read if you haven’t read it.  
> Anancites (The Freshman dorm Building) is Latin for Steel.  
> Reference for the galaxy muscle shirt Percy wears here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/152109122/women-galaxy-tank-top-galaxy-shirt? I know it is for women, but the design is what I was imagining.  
> Check me out on Tumblr! [joslushie](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/joslushie)


	2. Thursday, August 21st

Nico had been sitting in his English class for a whole of ten minutes before he zoned out. He stayed awake long enough for his teacher, an ugly hag named Mrs. Dodds, to call roll, hand out a syllabus, and begin to rant about how much she hates freshman ~~\--~~ then he was gone, game over, down for the count.

He was slumped in his chair, staring out the window, his chin resting on the palm of his hand and eyes half closed. Mrs. Dodds’ incessant yammering was nothing more than an unpleasant buzzing in the back of his mind. His thoughts were far away in Los Angeles, annoyingly enough.

He called his sister last night and she provided to be a nice distraction. She wanted to know everything; how was the drive ~~\--~~ _long ~~\--~~_ is he eating enough ~~\--~~ _by who’s standards_ ~~\--~~ was he settling in ~~\--~~ _sure thing_ ~~\--~~ how was his roommate ~~\--~~ _exactly like a roommate_ ~~\--~~ has he made any friends ~~\--~~ _Jeez, Bianca, I’m not in grade school_ ,  _you know?_

But he was still anxious. Even while her calm voice relaxed him on the outside, it felt like his brain was having a party in his head. Not the good kind either, the breaking-dishes-get-the-cops-called-I-am-never-going-to-get-this-house-cleaned-up kind of party. The kind that left Nico’s head throbbing and scattering every coherent thought he tried to muster-and wasn’t that a bitch. There was nothing that bothered him more than people not using their brains, and that especially applied to himself.

“… _co? Nico! Are you still on the line? I swear, if you hung up on me…_ ” He winced as her volume increased, his headache growing.

“Bianca. Chill. I’m here, I just spaced there for a moment. What were you saying?” She sighed on the other end of the line but when she spoke, it was tinged with amusement. “ _Alright, dead head. You must be tired. Call me tomorrow, ‘kay Nicky? Love you_.”

He smiled and nodded his head, then rolled his eyes and said out loud. “Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Bia.”

He wasn’t nervous-that couldn’t be it. School was just school. So why did he feel like he was waiting for something? Why did he feel like ~~\--~~

SLAM.

Nico just about jumped out of his skin when a ruler came down on the desk right in front of his face.   

"Mr. di Angelo. Could you please repeat to me the sentence I said? Word for word.” Mrs. Dodds sneered, her lip curling unattractively.

“Word for word?” he said. The teacher rolled her eyes, looking around at the rest of the class as if to confirm she wasn’t the only one witnessing his stupidity. “Yes, Mr. di Angelo, word for word. Isn’t that what I said?” Nico looked her right in the eyes with as much honesty as he could muster and replied, “Isn’t that what  _I_  said?”

The old hag looked genuinely confused. Turning back towards the students again, she became even more confused when she noticed their red faces and conniving glances. “Is there something funny, class?” Casting her cold gaze back at Nico, she asked, “Well? You haven’t answered my question.”

Barely keeping a straight face, Nico winked at a fellow classmate before turning back towards Mrs. Dodds and saying, “ _You_ haven’t answered  _my_  question.” The teacher twisted her face in exasperation and half-yelled, “You asked a question?”

The whole class belted out into uncontrollable laughter and Mrs. Dodds whipped around in a circle asking what was going on. Nico knew he probably shouldn’t have done that, but he couldn’t help himself. He was sure the hag had it coming. Though perhaps he should have waited longer than his first day in school before putting himself on anyone’s shit-list, especially his teachers.

When she turned back towards him, he realized he really did not want to get on this lady’s bad side. She looked like she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands ~~\--~~ literally and with no moral implications. He gulped and posed his face into a look of innocent confusion, saying, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m sure the class is still just a little rowdy with it being the first day of class. Would you mind further explaining the classroom rules so that there are no further misunderstandings?”

She glared at him a second longer before the anger on her face was replaced with mere irritation. “Yes, quite right, Mr. di Angelo. Lovely idea.” Nico breathed a sigh of relief when she went back to the front of the class and started repeating what he assumed were the classroom rules he missed the first go around.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a boy with ginger hair and a speckled face regard him with warm chocolate brown eyes with flecks of green in them. He was smirking at Nico but it didn’t seem in a cruel manner by the way his eyes were crinkling.

The boy shook his bangs out of his face and extended a hand. “Hey. I’m Ben. That was pretty smooth how you got yourself out of that. Mrs. Dodds is a known stickler.” Nico raised an eyebrow at him and nodded his head slowly, “Note taken.”

He turned back around and felt the tap on his shoulder again. Ben was still smirking at him and Nico furrowed his brow in slight agitation. What does this boy want? “Yes?” he asked.  The boy leaned forward and said, “It was a compliment. It looks to me like you’re not the one to take compliments but maybe I could change that.”Ben’s smile widened when Nico’s lips quirked down in thought. Was this boy  _flirting_  with him? He was about to answer when a loud voice from the front of the room inquired, “Mr. di Angelo, Mr. Christopher, are you discussing what days you would like detention or conspiring to buy me a birthday gift? If not, I would urge you to pay attention.”

Nico paled a little with the thought of having to tell Bianca he got detention on his first day of school and turned back around, stoically ignoring the next few taps to his shoulder. It was when he felt a foot nudge into his back that he turned around and whispered harshly, “What?”

The boy acted unaffected by his acidic tone and continued to smile that wolfish smile at him. “I didn’t catch your name.” Nico narrowed his eyes at him and tried for a nonchalant smile. “Nico.”

He turned around immediately and tried to pay attention to the last of Mrs. Dodds lecture but a small, irritated smile graced his face when he heard the boy whisper behind him, “Nice to meet you there, Nico.”

The bell rang shortly after and he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Before he reached the door, a hand came down on his shoulder and he turned to see Ben there, confidently smiling at him and grasping the straps of his own backpack.

He was only about an inch taller than Nico’s annoyingly short stature of 5’7” and wearing one of those ridiculous orange t-shirts everyone seems to own, making his pale face look washed out in between his orange shirt and orange hair. To be honest,  _he_  looked a bit ridiculous, but Nico found him a little cute in an ugly puppy dog sort of way.

“Yes?” he questioned. He didn’t wait to see if the boy followed him when he turned on his heel and left, but he could hear quick footsteps right behind him. “You know,” he started, “You don’t have to be so overly noncommittal, I would have came to talk to you eventually. No need to put on a show just for me.”

Nico scoffed a little sped up his pace. “Look, Brad-”

“It’s Ben actually, but I can be Brad if you want me to be, Angel.” He interrupted.

Nico glared at him and took up where he left off. “ ~~\--~~ is there something I can do for you, because I‘ve got places to be.” Ben bumped him with his shoulder in a little too overly friendly way and Nico moved a few inches away uncomfortably. “Brent, I don’t like to be touched.”

“I thought it was Brad, Angel ~~\--~~ ” he started, “And don’t call me Angel”, Nico interrupted. Ben laughed and finished like he didn’t hear him. “And besides, I’m sure that can be changed as well.”

Nico stopped and glared somberly at him. Ben realized there was no humor in his eyes though, so he quickly changed up his approach and started backing away with one more bump to his shoulder, causing Nico to bare his teeth in a little. “I’ll see you later then, Angel.”

He shook his head in disbelief at the retreating boy and wondered if he was that obviously gay or if Bill was just that confident.

His next class, Study Hall, was a few buildings over and he had fifteen minutes or so to spare, so he found a shady tree and dialed his sister’s number.

 

* * *

  

While he was waiting, he saw the same girl that nearly mowed over him yesterday walking with the same boy. They rounded the corner before he could get a good look at them though, but he would recognize those green eyes anywhere.

He was about to follow them when after a few rings Bianca picked up on the other line, the sound of screaming kids in the background.  _“Hello?”_

“Hey, sis. What’s with the kids screaming bloody murder?”

" _Oh, hey Nico, I’m babysitting my neighbors’ kids.”_

“You don’t like kids.”

_“Yeah, I should have remembered that before I agreed to this.”_

He laughed and played with the fur of his aviator jacket. “Yeah, I guess you should have.”

_“Why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be miserable going through your first day of school? Or does that stop with high school?”_  

“I have a break between periods. They give you thirty minutes to get from one class to another, not a measly five like in L.A. So I thought I’d give you a call.”

_“You’re sweet kiddo. So how’s it going so far?”_

“I’ve only been to one class so far. My English class.”

_“Ah, how was it? How’s your teacher? Did you make any friends?”_

“Bianca, once more. I am not a child anymore; you don’t need to check up on me to see if I made any friends. And the teacher is a hag with bad breath.”

_“I’m just looking out for my little bro. no need to get so defensive. So I take that as a no?”_

“Well…there is this one guy that I’m pretty sure was flirting with me.”

_“Oh, day one and you already got yourself a boyfriend? You work fast, my friend.”_

“Oh, yeah. I’m a real man-snatcher.”

_“You got that right, amico. So who-_  Oi!  _What do you think you’re doing? Put that down._ Now!  _Nico, I gotta go, these kids are going to kill me or I’m going to kill them, one. Call me later tonight, yeah?”_

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “try not to be convicted without me there to hide the bodies. Talk to you later.”

_“No promises. Ti amo bambino.”_

“Ti amo troppo.”

The call disconnected in the middle of Bianca shouting about all the creative places a foot could surprisingly fit, and Nico really felt sorry for those kids right about then.

He sighed and pocketed his phone. The couple he was looking for, though, was long gone.

 

* * *

  

Nico walked to his next class in a white building with marble columns and a statue fountain of a rearing centaur. He raised his eyebrow at that but chose not to question it.

There was a paper taped to a pair of double doors saying that Study Hall with Mr. D was in the lecture hall. Seeing as the only doors that didn’t lead to a restroom or supply closet in the hall were the set of double doors in front of him, he pushed inside and hoped he was in the right place.

Inside was an auditorium in a half-circle with a small stage like riser taking up the back wall. The seats were in rows following the curve in front of a long table, serving as one huge desk for the entire row. There was maybe about thirty others already seated since Nico got there just a few minutes before the bell was to ring.

Near the front in the middle section he saw Grover plop down with a large group of his friends talking animatedly. He thought he would sit with him since he didn’t really know anyone else and he seemed really welcoming that first night. Nico started to walk towards them when he spotted another familiar figure sitting with his roommate.

He stopped and wordlessly turned around to sit at the back of the classroom. He didn’t think he would ever see him again let alone be in a class with him. He was obviously an upperclassman. Was Study Hall not separated?

He looked up again and his eyes found the boy at once. His hair still had that just-rolled-out-of-bed look and it was sticking up awkwardly in the back. How did that look so good on him? He was wearing an orange muscle shirt with a simple black vest over it. Black skinny jeans were practically painted on his skin and he had on a dark blue belt and matching vans that were kicked up on top of the desk. He had his sunglasses on top of his head and a leather strung necklace with clay beads on it circling his neck.

Nico was staring intently at the back of his head trying to remember the look in those green orbs, when suddenly it wasn’t a problem anymore. He almost had a heart attack when he turned his head and met Nico’s eyes easily. God, he was gorgeous. His eyes were like sparkling sea glass, framed by short, dark lashes. His nose was elegant and sloping down towards his lips; perfect, pink, soft…and smirking.

The tips of Nico’s ears reddened when he tore his reluctant gaze from his mouth to look into those eyes again. He was frozen, stuck, his eyes glued open. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to look away. He  _needed_  to look away.

A short man in an awful Hawaiian shirt with a can of grape soda got up on the raised platform. “PETER JOHNSON! Get your feet off of the desk before I send you to kitchen duty for a week.” The guy, Peter apparently, scowled and looked away from Nico, effectively freeing him of his trance as he quickly looked down and refused to look up. He could hear him call out in a jovial voice, “Yessir, Mr. Dionysus, sir.”

The burly man, Mr. D, or Dionysus it seems, drained his can of juice and pulled another one out from gods knew where, and threw the empty can at Peter’s head, which he nimbly jumped a little and caught it, throwing it at a nearby trashcan only to have it hit the brim and clatter to the floor. The blond girl he was with punched him in the arm and he got up to walk across the floor and bent down to pick it up.

Now, when he says “walks” and “bends”, what he really means is that he glides across the floor with his hips swaying naturally and bends at the waist to present his perfectly slim backside to Nico in a private show just for him. Probably. Maybe not. But he can pretend.    

When he stood back up after throwing it away, Nico could have melted in his seat with the wink he sent his way. His hand was playing with the hem of his shirt, revealing a thin strip of tanned skin showing. The only thing is he couldn’t decide if he turned red from embarrassment or arousal.

He returned to his seat but continued to stare at Nico. He tried to ignore him, but his heated gaze was so intense that he found himself looking up to meet his eyes every once in a while. Mr. D was grumbling and arguing with a few of the kids but other than that, it didn’t look like he was planning on doing anything else with the class.

Nico glanced up at Peter underneath his eyelashes, deciding that he might as well have a little bit of fun. The boy looked surprised but pleased with his sudden interest and shifted in his seat to face him more. The girl next to him, the blond he was with yesterday, noticed and looked back at Nico, giving him an inquisitive but not wholly unfriendly onceover. She pushed back her blond locks from her face and moved closer to the boy, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and whispering in his ear. Whatever she said made him turn back towards the front of the classroom and lean closer to her, leaving his back to Nico.

Nico blushed and looked back down at the book he was reading. How could he forget? That was probably his girlfriend. He must have misinterpreted his looks. It was an easy mistake to make and one that he had made before. That didn’t turn out so well and it would be a shame to do something that foolish again. But...Alex had not been completely his fault. Yes, he had probably taken some things the wrong way, but he had deliberately led him on just to drop him on his ass later in front of everyone he thought cared about him. That was three years ago and Bianca was still in protective-big-sister mode.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, realizing that he read the same sentence three times in a row, none of it making any sense. Which was ridiculous, he knew the book by heart. It was his favorite.

Mr. D’s voice spoke from the front of the room again, so he slid his book in his messenger bag and looked up at the snarling man. “Okay, brats. This is pretty much what every class is gonna be like. So bring something useful to work on and try not to get on my nerves. Now everyone leave me alone.” He jumped down and left through a side door after throwing another empty can at Peter, this time he wasn’t looking so it bounced off the back of his head. The class laughed and even Mr. D cracked a smile before leaving.

Nico took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time. 11:25, which gives him about an hour before his next class. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made for the exit. He was thinking about having pastrami for lunch. Maybe with a salad and Thousand Island dressing. Some meat and cheese and maybe some grapes. He could probably fry up some spam and caramelize some cashews and almonds to make a sandwich if he could find an oven to use. Or he could just find a McDonalds and get a Happy Meal since that seemed like more effort than he was willing to put into this.

Happy Meal it is. Now, I wonder what toys they are handing out with them around this time… “Hey! Nico! Wait up, man.”

He turned around to see Grover running up to him, his hand holding down his hat. He looked around and thought of escaping, but he would have to interact with him sooner or later. “Hey, Grover. What’s up?” He was standing in front of him now, smiling and looking hopeful. “You’re new here, right? To New York, I mean. You wanna have lunch with us? We’ll show you around.”

Grover pointed over his shoulders with his thumb, and following it he saw the group of people he assumed were his friends laughing and waiting for him. They all looked nice enough, but Peter was with them. With his arm thrown over the blond girls shoulders. With her hand around his hip. He was looking at Nico though, looking at him with those damn eyes of his.

Nico focused on Grover again and tried for an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m supposed to make some calls back home. You know how it is. Maybe next time.” He looked a little disappointed but he nodded his head and said he would hold him to that, and he takes promises seriously. He ran back to his friends and Peter punched him in the shoulder as they all walked in the opposite direction of Nico. He turned and started back towards his dorm but looked back over his shoulder to see the boy with the green eyes doing the same thing. He didn’t want to think about what that look meant.

 

* * *

 

After Lunch ~~\--~~ and he did end up with a Happy Meal, a throw-back plush dog with an overly large head included ~~\--~~ he went to his Economics class, spotting a familiar head of crazy dark curls framing a young, but old beyond her years, face. He walked over and she let out an excited squeal upon seeing him. “Nico!”

He smiled and accepted her hug, she being one of the few people allowed to touch him like that. He kissed the top of her head and pulled back. “Hey, Hazel.”

She pulled him down into a seat next to her and immediately started bombarding him with questions. “Fancy seeing you here. I’m glad you decided come; it’s going to be great, just you wait! So who is your roommate? Do you like him? If he’s not treating you nicely, I’m sure I could talk to him. Would that be okay with you? What classes do you have? Why didn’t try to find me or call me during lunch hour? I would have eaten with you. I’ll have to introduce you to my friends, I’m sure you’ll like them. What about ~~\--~~ ”

“Hazel!” He interrupted, “Slow down. One thing at a time, okay?” She smirked at him but didn’t apologize, that was one of the benefits of being family, you didn’t have to apologize for things like that, family understood. “So?” She prompted.

“My roommate’s name is Grover ~~\--~~ ”

“Grover Underwood? I know him, he’s my friend! Do you like him, he’s a sweet guy.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at her and she closed her mouth and acted like she was zipping it up before motioning for him to continue.

He nodded his head and started again. “Yes, he’s my roommate, and I like him okay, I guess. I don’t really know him yet, but he seems nice. I have pretty normal classes. Today I had English, then Study Hall, and now Economics, with you. Tomorrow I have Classical Greek and College Algebra ~~\--~~ ”

“You’ll like Greek; I took it my Freshman year. The teacher, Professor Chiron, is a great guy and you’ll get to go on some pretty dynamite field trips. You just don’t learn the language, he teaches you some of the old myths and legends and culture. It’s a blast.”

Nico was glad to hear that, but he still gave her a stern look, the glare saying you-know-I-hate-when-you-interrupt-me. She stuck her tongue out at him in turn, the gesture saying yes-I-know-and-that’s-why-I-do-it.

“I think it will be enjoyable. Me, joy, who would have thought?” She rolled her eyes but she didn’t protest. “I didn’t call you or try to find you for lunch because I got distracted…and then I ate a Happy Meal and then I showed up here.”

Hazel sighed good naturedly and pinched him in the arm. “Ow!” He said. “Why’d you do that?” She pinched him again, harder, and he swatted at her hands. “Because you’re an idiot.”

He was about to protest, but then the teacher came in and announced loudly for everyone to get out a piece of paper and something to write with. The teacher, a man in a brown pinstriped suit, glasses, and converse on, and wasn’t that an odd combination, began to write on a chalk board. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the seat next to him was no longer empty. He turned and saw probably the only person he would be opposed to sitting next to him…well, sitting next to him.

The girl had intense grey eyes that looked like they were scrutinizing his very soul. Her blond hair was pulled back in a pony tail revealing silver owl earrings. She was wearing an ~~\--~~ wait for it ~~\--~~ orange t-shirt and a New York Yankees baseball cap sitting low over her eyes. The smile she was giving him was a little eerie, like she knew everything about him and was planning on using it to her advantage.

She looked over at Hazel and smiled and saw his half-sister get up to hug the girl. “Hey, Annabeth. This is Nico, he’s my half-brother. He came all the way from California. Nico, this is my friend Annabeth.” He looked at her and gave her a tight smile. She raised her eyebrows a little and said, “Nice to meet you, Nico.” Something about her voice made him look at her again. Yep…she still had that smile on her face. That smile looked like trouble, and not the kind he wanted to be in.

The teacher called everyone’s attention to the front of the class and stood there smiling with his arms crossed over his chest, the biggest smile Nico had ever plastered across his face.

“Okay, everybody! I’m the Doctor.”

A kid near the front of the class, the blond sitting next to the dark-haired boy Nico remembered from being across the hall from his dorm, asked, “Doctor who?”

The teacher looked at him and nodded his head enthusiastically, saying “Exactly!”

The kid turned towards his companion, dressed too formally to be a college student, and smiled at him. The smartly dressed student smirked at the teacher and spoke in a deep voice, “I like you.”

The Doctor smiled and said. “Good, good, that’s good. So! Economics, how exciting. Let’s get started. Allons-y!”

The rest of the class period, The Doctor went on a teaching frenzy about everything and anything that was not economics and leaving the class far behind. Nico kept eyeing Annabeth suspiciously and she would look right back and smirk, like she knew what he was thinking. Hazel and Annabeth kept talking the entire time and tried to include Nico in the conversation, but he tried very hard to be excluded from it.

The white board was filled with The Doctors scribblings and diagrams. The only student that seemed to be paying attention to him was a blond girl in the front row, which was okay since the only student he seemed to really be teaching to was her. He felt a nudge from his right and looked up to see Annabeth smiling at him and nodding her head at the girl he was watching.

“That’s Rose. She’s a junior here. She and The Doctor have been a thing since her Freshman year.”

Nico looked back at her and questioned, “Isn’t that illegal?”

She tugged on the brim of her cap and asked, “Not unless they get caught out. Besides, everyone knows, even some of the teachers. It’s not that big of a deal here. He’s only twenty-four, that’s just four years older than her. Do you have a problem with older men, Nico?”

That last question caught him off guard, and he couldn’t help but think of Alex, who was three years older than him at the time, or Peter…he was at least a Junior, probably a Senior. Annabeth was smiling at him patiently, like she knew where his thoughts went. If she could read minds, that would sure explain a lot of things.

“No,” he said, “No, I don’t.” In fact, you could probably say he had a thing for older men, but he didn’t say that. No matter, though, she looked like she knew anyway.

“How old are you, Nico?”

“Eighteen.”

“Huh, four years. What do you know?”

He looked at her like she was crazy. What did she mean by that? Four years what? The Doctor spoke up before he could ask though.

“Oh, yes! I hope you’re getting all this down. None of it will be on the exam.” He spun around and erased everything on the chalk board. When he was done, he stood up on one of the students’ desks and winked at Rose. “I’ve always wanted to do that, ever since I saw that movie. What’s the one, with the poetry teacher that was a genie? Sorry, that’s the Lion King. No! I meant the other Disney movie, with the lad with the bread. Anyway, the teacher wasn’t a genie, I suppose, not in that time. But the point still stands.”

“Anywho, you all need to have a little bit more perspective. Think you’ve seen it all? Think again. Outside those doors, we might see anything. We could find new worlds, terrifying monsters, impossible things. And if you come with me…nothing will ever be the same again.” He rocked back and forth on his heels and said, “So, I hope you are ready. We begin next week. Now, I don’t want to go…but I want all of you to go. So, go on! Get out of here!”

Hazel pulled Nico up by the back of his jacket and pulled him towards the door. “Okay. I have to go to work. But don’t forget about me.” Nico nodded his head and started off in the opposite direction, only to be stopped by Annabeth blocking his path.

“It was nice to meet you, Nico. I think we’ll be seeing each other again very soon.” He nodded his head slowly and watched her bound after Hazel, a pinch between his brows. Hm, she’s going to be a thorn in his side, isn’t she?

 

* * *

 

Friday, August 22nd

It was Friday, and Nico hadn’t gone to sleep ‘till five that morning, so of course he had woken up late. His first class wasn’t until eleven, but he ran into the classroom as soon as the bell rang, much to the amusement of his classmates. The teacher, Mr. Chiron he found, gave him a comforting smile and remarked, “Well, then. I’m glad you have decided to join us.”

Nico smiled sheepishly and took the only open seat, which happened to be near the back. Unfortunately, that seat was only three away from someone he was really hoping to see as little as possible. Was his luck really that bad?

Peter grinned at him and gave him a little wave. Nico glowered and slumped in his seat, determined to ignore him to the best of his abilities. His abilities must be absolute shit because not thirty seconds later he was trying to sneak a glance at him but he was still beaming at him from his seat. He was already lost, wasn’t he?

He was wearing a purple t-shirt with black letters on it. S.P.Q.R…that sounds a little familiar. He had on white jeans ~~\--~~ I know what you’re thinking, white jeans? That’s lame. On him? They look good. Really, really,  _really_  good… ~~\--~~ and purple high-top vans. When he waved at him, he saw a tattoo on the underside of his forearm; a plain, black trident.

If he could see the details of the design on the trident, how the hair on his arms were standing up, or how it looked like he missed some spots shaving that morning, he had obviously been looking way too long. Green eyes met impossibly dark ones and Nico realized that there was no  _too long_  when it came to looking at that boy.

Nico wished that he could say that he learned something that day in his Classical Greek class, and really he did, but maybe not the things that he was suppose to learn. He learned that Peter likes to wiggle his eyebrows when Nico had been staring too long, and that he never blushes, even if he was the one caught staring. He learned that Peter almost never stopped smiling and when he did, it was to frown when he was thinking, like it hurt him to think so hard. He learned that Peter was a Weezer fan because he caught him humming Island in the Sun.

Nico also learned that Peter was someone that everyone liked. The whole class wanted to talk to him or wave at him or smile at him or pass him notes like it was the fifth grade. Nico would be jealous if he had any right to be jealous. Which he didn’t. But he was.

Professor Chiron was even an okay guy and he seems like he was going to be a good teacher. Hazel was right, he thinks, this is going to be a fun class. He looks over at Peter again, still grinning his stupid grin, and thinks, or my worst nightmare.

At the end of the period, Professor Chiron stood at the front of the class ~~\--~~ or he should say sat, since he was in a wheelchair, somebody failed to mention that ~~\--~~ and told them they were free to go and enjoy their weekend.

Now if Nico had any luck at all, it would be bad luck. So why he chose to actually believe that he made an escape without being confronted, once again, he has no idea. So it really should have been no surprise that, once again, a hand came down onto his shoulder. He took a deep breath and faced the boy he was sure was going to be there. And, yes, it was him. Great.

Peter crinkled his eyes in mirth and stepped back to observe him. He took in Nico’s dark jeans and his almost too small Led Zeppelin t-shirt, pausing to assess his old converse with red laces and his usual aviator jacket sitting bulkily on his shoulders, and stopped when he reached his eyes again. Nico felt like he should say something, it wasn’t as if he was being very subtle about checking him out. But he couldn’t, he just let him continue with his scrutiny.

“Hey.”

“Yes?” he asked. He was taller up close, a good six inches taller than himself. This close, his eyes were a darker green near the middle and lighter as they go out, glassy and deep at the same time. They looked like the sea reflecting the sunlight after a storm. Calm and powerful and commanding.

His voice was boyish and playful, but had an edge to it ~~\--~~ an edge that Nico very much wanted to step up to its precipice and stare over that cliff and see how far he could lean over before feeling its effects. “You’re Grover’s roommate right?” 

“Uh, yes. What’s it to you?” Oh, gods. He could feel himself blushing. This is ridiculous. He schooled his features and narrowed his eyes in contemplation, trying to decide what he wanted with him. His scowl was probably coming off a little hostile considering the pinch between the boy’s brows in front of him, but perhaps that was for the best. He was more than surprised when his eyes brightened with interest in spite of his obvious malice instead of pulling further away.

He looked like he was just about to speak when Grover ran up and clapped Peter on the back. “Hey, I see you met my roomie.”

Peter swiped the hat off of his head and ruffled his curls before shoving the hat back in his face. “Yeah. Did you invite him to the party?”

Grover tried to tame his curls with the hat but he only succeeded in making it stick up more. “Dude. Duh. He said he’s busy though.”

Peter turned to look at him with round eyes that looked like the ocean was roiling in their depths.  Whoa. Was he giving him  _puppy dog_ eyes? Are those  _Crocodile tears_? Is he trying to  _guilt trip_  him? Who does this guy think he  _is_? Nico di Angelo does not fall for things like that. Those things work for little girls and pre-pubescent boys and pregnant moms, not eighteen year old guys in college. No, not happening. Does he really think that was going to  _work_?

“No, no. I’m not busy. I…I, uh checked. I can come.”

Well, shit. Why did he say that? Where had that come from? That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. He was suppose to say ‘Nope, sorry. I can’t, I’m terribly busy. Maybe some other time, but then again maybe not because you seem really dangerous and I like danger. But I’m not suppose to because that’s going to end badly and you are probably going to steal my heart and never give it back and I just can’t let that happen, you know? But you will probably worm your way in there anyhow so I might as well give in now, right? WRONG. Because that would make me weak and I can’t show weakness. Even though it’s really hard when you’re looking at me with those beautiful eyes of yours, I’m going to have to say no, because I’m going to regret this for the rest of my life if I walk away now, but I will regret it even more if I say yes and let my heart be broken. Understand? So, I’ll see you Monday in class, yeah? Even though I will probably avoid you then too.’

Well…maybe not exactly like that. But it was close enough.

Oh, shit. He was looking at him again. The moisture was still in his eyes and he’d be damned if they didn’t look even brighter and more mischievous like that. “Well, then. Nico, is it? I’ll see you Friday.” He winked at him and turned to Grover. “See you later, G-man. Make sure he knows where he’s going.” With another wink in Nico’s direction, he scampered off. Actually scampered, running excitably like a dog that caught the trail of a rabbit.

He turned back towards his roommate and looked at him nerviously, hoping he didn’t call him on lying to him. But he was apparently better at it than he thought, because he was smiling, looking as clueless as ever, and telling him he would see him after school so they can go to the party.

He let out a sigh of relief and tried to think of a way to get his mind off of this party he somehow got himself into. He should probably call Bianca; she’d be excited that he’s making an effort to be social. Unless he could escape still…but then again, Peter was going to be there.

He couldn’t decide if that was a good thing, something to look forward to, or a bad thing, something to be scared of. Most likely both.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Dodds’ hatred for Freshman is dedicated to my High School English teacher when I was a Junior.  
> I would like to make it known that I do not find any kind of puppy dogs ugly, but the metaphor is apt.  
> Italics are conversations over the phone.  
> Amico is Italian for friend or any other term of endearment along those same lines.  
> Ti amo bambino = Italian for I love you kid.  
> Ti amo troppo = Italian for I love you too.  
> Reference to the Centaur fountain: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/sven-hein/5320407445/  
> Reference to Happy Meal toy here: http://mashable.com/2013/11/08/mcdonalds-toys/  
> Remember these? Gosh, that makes me feel old.  
> Anyone want to play spot the Sherlock reference, or Doctor Who?  
> The movie the Doctor is trying to reference, besides the Lion King and Aladdin, is the Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams. (Who also plays the voice of Genie in Aladdin which where the Doctor was getting confused with)  
> Reference to Percy’s forearm tattoo here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/566538828095326488  
> Never heard of Weezer? Or Island in the Sun? You need to. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0C3zgYW_FAM  
> Same thing with Led Zeppelin, it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with their music. Here is the shirt Nico is wearing: http://www.honcho-sfx.com/mens-c1/t-shirts-c2/mens-vintage-led-zeppelin-t-shirt-char-wash-p419
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr! [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	3. Friday, August 22nd continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for leaving kudos and commenting! It warms my heart and makes my day.

           Nico was standing in front of a full-length mirror set up in his and Grover’s dorm room. He was already ready for the party, as ready as he could be, but Grover was still in his day-clothes playing his DS. It’s early still, he supposes. Eight o’ clock is early for college kids right? Grover looked like he wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon, so there must be plenty of time before they were expected. He was already dressed though. It was nerves. Or anticipation. Or anxiety. Maybe a cocktail of all three.

 

            Were college parties really like they were in the movies? Or was that a gross exaggeration? Or were they mellowed down? He has gone drinking before. Of course he has, he’s a teenager. He smokes cigarettes every once in a while when the urge occurs, even though he wasn’t fond of the taste, and even lit up a joint before when he was still with Alex. He wasn’t a blushing virgin. He sure as hell wasn’t as innocent as Bianca thought he was. But a college party? He wasn’t sure what to expect.

 

            There was probably going to be alcohol. He would be disappointed at the low standard of college life if there wasn’t. Would people be dancing or standing there awkwardly? Either way he would be the wall-flower, as unflattering a term as that is. Nobody there would want to dance with him and he can’t think of anyone he would particularly like to dance with…well, then again, honesty wasn’t always one of his best attributes. 

 

            He was brought out of his thoughts by Grover yelling at his DS. “SUCK IT, LUIGI!” Nico glanced at him over his shoulder and saw that he was throwing the device on the bed and pulling clothes out of his closet randomly. He decided to try to appease some of his worries. 

 

            He cleared his throat. “So, your friend, Peter, how do you know him?” Grover stuck his head out of the closet and pinched his brows in confusion. “Who?”

 

            Was he being deliberately obtuse or was he that forgetful? “Your friend, Peter Johnson, the one that said I should come to the party?” 

 

            Grover looked confused for a couple more minutes before he snorted out a laugh and started rifling through his clothes again. “Oh, you’re talking about what Mr. D said. Nah man, his name is Percy. Percy Jackson, he’s the one I’ve been talking about. Mr. D refuses to get his name right. I think it’s a Napoleon complex thing, ya know?”  

 

             Percy. Percy Jackson. Nico tasted the name, getting used to the way it rolled off his tongue. Percy fit him. Much better than Peter did. 

 

            “Ah. Right. How do you know him? He’s an upper classman, right?” 

 

            “Yeah. He and Annabeth are both Seniors, but I met them at Camp. Uh, that’s Camp Half-Blood, a sort of combat and survival training…thing that’s in the summer. A bunch of us go there actually. Mr. D is the director, some sort of punishment for something he did that no one really knows about, and Professor Chiron is sort of like the manager I guess. He basically runs everything because Mr. D…well, doesn’t.”

 

            “Hm.”

 

            “Yup. Don’t let the tattoos and clothing throw you off, Percy’s a good guy. I think you’ll like him. He’s not a snob like the other popular people at school, and everyone at camp loves him, especially the kids. He teaches sword fighting. He’s great with them, but he’s like that with everyone, and everyone wants him because of it.”

 

            “Wants him?” Nico furrowed his brows and turned back to the mirror, hoping his blush wasn’t as obvious as it felt. It was.

 

            “Mm. He’s quite popular, if you know what I mean.”

 

            “You mean he’s the campus bicycle?”

 

            “Hah! No, that honor belongs to Annabeth and Piper. More Annabeth than Piper since Pipes has Jason now. But Annabeth doesn’t know whether or not she hates men or loves them, so she likes to shop around. She and Perce have been together since they were like 12, but they see other people. They’re more like best friends than anything though. No, I would say Percy is more like the campus motorcycle. Everyone wants him-and I mean everyone, guys and girls and even some teachers I know about-but only a lucky few get to have him.”

 

            Nico processed this new information. He didn’t know who Piper was, but Annabeth…he wishes any guy luck with her, she seems like a handful. Percy must be strong for being with her that long. They have known each other for quite a long time…that’s a lot to compete with. 

 

            Did he just say compete? He wasn’t trying to compete with her, or anyone for that matter. He was definitely not going to try to get in between her and Percy; she was not an enemy he wished to have. Besides, he doesn’t need a relationship right now. He came to New York for school, to start a new chapter in his life. It is out of the question.

 

            It is the only question. 

 

            And Nico wasn’t even going to fool himself into thinking he wasn’t going to try his damnedest to win this game. Win Percy. Stupid of him? Yes. But then again, he was known to make stupid decisions once or twice in his life. 

 

            Grover disappeared to the restrooms and left Nico to turn back to the mirror, assessing his appearance one more time. His battle armor.

 

            He had on his second favorite pair of black skinny jeans-tight, gathered slightly at the ankles, and clung to his ass like it was designed to show off one of his best attributes-in his opinion-and a thick blue belt. He wore a plain black t-shirt that he has had since his freshman year of high school. It was well-worn with the edges frayed but he kept the color fresh by dying it every six months. Bianca bought it for him, the cheap thing, but it was his good-luck shirt ever since, as silly as the sentiment was.

 

            Being as old as it was had its advantages, though. The end of it just barely brushed the top of his belt, but when he raised his arms or hunched his shoulders close to his ears, a thin strip of skin on his lower abdomen showed. He hoped it looked enticing and not ridiculous. He still wore his old pair of converse as well, not willing to part them. 

 

            Hell, he even styled his hair. By styled, he meant he ran a comb through it again instead of leaving it where it laid from that morning’s brushing like he usually did. 

 

            The residue of his blush from earlier was still evident high on his cheeks, but the rest of his face was as gaunt as always. His skin was pale and unmarred except for the blush, but that was fading now, leaving only skin almost as white as paper to stretch over his bones. Bianca always told him his eyes were one of his most striking features. They were wide and surrounded by dark, thick lashes that were longer than he thought they should be for a boy. From a distance, his eyes might as well be black with as dark as they are, but up close, they are a rich, dark brown. He had a small upturned nose despite his Italian heritage and thin pink lips that alternated between being turned down into a frown or being quirked up into a smirk. 

 

            He was skinny. Too skinny really, he almost never remembered to eat. Maybe if he did, his face would fill out and lose some of its skeletal appearance. The bruises under his eyes were less pronounced than they usually were because he had been sleeping surprisingly well. He didn’t look half bad, if he did say so himself. 

 

            Grover came back into the room and pulled his hat on over his head. “You ready?”

 

            Nico nodded once to his reflection and then again to Grover, putting a brave smile on his face and following him out to the student parking lot. 

 

* * *

  


 

            They pulled up to a big house that he assumed was where the party was taking place. He says that because there were people ambling in and out of the open doors of the house with drinks in their hands and he can hear the blaring music all the way from where they parked across the street. 

 

            He followed Grover inside but as soon as they stepped through the door he bounced away with a shout to enjoy himself. He saw a girl in a small, loose green dress with thin straps run up to him with a squeal and throw herself into his arms. He laughed and spun her out of his view. That must be Juniper, he thought. 

 

            Nico looked around and observed his surroundings. There were so many people here that though plenty of them were dancing, to a song that sounded close enough to be Jamie Foxx’s ‘Blame It’ over the constant shouting and laughter of the young adults, they might as well have been standing still with as much-or rather little-space between bodies. Nico could be standing in the middle of the mob and still be the unnoticed wallflower.

 

            He took comfort in that and walked through what was presumably the living room, wondering how long he had to stay without being considered rude for leaving too early. He skirted around the bulk of the dancing mass in the center but every now and then he had to plaster himself to the wall to avoid an absent grind or well-placed elbow to the face. Making it to the kitchen, Nico saw it was notably less crowded and decided to hide out there for a bit.

 

            There were those plastic red cups, the classic ‘Greek life’ ones you see in the movies, and a dozen different bottles of liquor and packs of beer littering the counter tops. Nico picked up one of the cups and sniffed at it. It smelled like…rubbing alcohol? Nico pulled away and put on his best bitch-face. If he had any sanity he would pour this down the sink and not even think about pickling his liver with this venomous substance. Unfortunately, he realized a long time ago that there was no fun in being sane and insanity is undoubtedly more thrilling. Nico gasped in a quick breath and downed the clear liquid in a long swallow, followed close by another. The sting brought tears to his eyes but the heat in his belly was slowly spreading to his chest and that was too good to pass up.

 

            A glance around found him honing in on what he assumed was the dining room, where a group of five guys were playing cards and drinking, girls touching their shoulders and laughing amicably to each other over their heads. Facing towards him was Peter-no, Percy-but he hasn’t seemed to notice him yet. 

 

            And Jesus, did that boy ever look anything but unbelievably fucking delicious? Nico seriously doubted it. He changed as well. He was wearing an ocean blue t-shirt that clung to his broad chest enticingly and that same beaded necklace hanging from his throat. He put down his cards and had a winning hand apparently because he stood up and danced in a circle, giving Nico a nice view of his ass in those dark wash jeans, this time adorned with a chain belt that loops down mid-thigh on one side. If this was Christmas come early, then there was nothing Nico wanted to do more than to tear into that beautifully wrapped present with his teeth and…

 

            …and was that really something he was thinking about right now?  

 

            It looked like he was winning quite massively, but every now and then he would lose a hand. Nico stared at him while he played and quickly observed that every time he had a good hand, his left eyebrow would twitch minutely. He was losing some of the hands on purpose then. A hustler, Hm? Interesting.

 

            Nico shook his head and was about to turn to leave when he heard his name being called from the direction he really hoped it wasn’t coming from. Of course it was though, he would recognize that voice anywhere, even though he had only heard it a grand total of two times. Deep and commanding but boyish and playful at the same time. It sounded like it had the potential to make enumerable amounts of tones and lilts and gasps and moans and…

 

            …and this was really not helping. 

 

            “Nico!” the voice called again from behind him. He took a deep breath and faced the boy at the table. Percy was grinning at him from behind a short stack of money and chips, obviously pleased with himself, while the other guys he was playing with had stood up from the table. One glared daggers at him, which Percy returned with a jovial smile, and stomped away; towing a girl behind him, but not before she blew a kiss to Percy over her shoulder. He caught it in his fist and held it to his heart, the charming bastard. Two of the other guys bumped fists with him and pulled their own girls away and the last guy grabbed Percy firmly by the chin and pressed a hard kiss to his lips, Percy biting his lip a little when he pulled away with a wink. Oh my goodness, and didn’t _that_ set his stomach on fire with lust and jealousy. 

 

            Nico was still staring hungrily at Percy’s lips when he caught his eyes with a knowing smirk and beckoned him over. Nico glanced around frantically until he set his eyes on a bottle of Jack Daniels. Ah, good old whiskey, liquid courage as his dad would say. He grabbed at the half-empty bottle and swallowed a quick sip. The pleasant warmth spread automatically down his throat to the pit of his stomach and pooled in his groin. He could taste the courage. Or maybe that was the butterfly’s threatening to fly out of his throat. 

 

            Percy watched him with shark eyes from his seat at the table. The intensity of his stare sent shivers down Nico’s spine. Instead of taking the seat that Percy was patting right next to him, he sat across the table and picked up the deck, shuffling it meticulously. Percy raised an eyebrow at him and Nico licked his lips slowly. “I know you were throwing some of your hands.”

 

            Percy arched his other eyebrow to match the one already raised into his hairline. “Oh, really? And how do you figure that?”

 

            “Your eyebrow twitches when you have a good hand, and yet you folded or played a bad hand every third go.”

 

            “Maybe my eyebrow just twitches of its own accord, Mr. Know-it-all.”

 

            “No.”

 

            “No?”

 

            “No.” Nico let a slow smile spread over his face when Percy eyed him appreciatively. 

 

            “I like you.”

 

            Nico flushed at the praise but kept his eyes trained on Percy’s. “I know.”

 

            Percy smirked and plucked the cards from Nico’s hands, shuffling them in fancy patterns, never breaking eye contact. “Well, how about you test my playing powers?”

 

            Nico looked at the deck in his hand and smiled. “I’m underage. Gambling is illegal.”

 

            He smirked and Percy leaned across the table until he was inches from his face, staring at his lips while he spoke. “You’re already drinking,” he whispered, “what’s adding gambling to that list?” Nico swallowed and eyed him with dark eyes. Before he could speak, he pulled away and continued. “Besides, we’ll play for drinks, not money.” He smiled a feral grin and Nico could feel it all the way down his spine. “So…call the game?”

 

            Nico let out a slow breath and tried for a smile. “5 Card Draw?”

 

            Percy nodded and passed out 5 cards to each of them, setting the deck aside. Nico eyed his cards thoughtfully. He had two threes, a five, a queen, and ten, all different suits. 

 

           He had mostly low cards, so either Percy has the higher cards and he will acquire more low cards on his draw, or Percy has more low cards and he will get high cards next. It was a tossup really. He grabbed the queen and the five to replace and Percy gave him two from the deck as replacements, himself grabbing three. Nico looked at his new cards and frowned minutely, just giving the indication that he was trying to hide his displeasure. 

 

            Percy looked up at him and smirked at his frown, letting him know that he didn’t hide it well enough. He was confident now, smiling openly and regarding Nico with patience. He was positive the game was his. He was just where Nico wanted him.

 

            Nico looked down at his cards once more and picked his best hand; two threes and two tens, king high. Not a bad hand for 5 Card Draw. 

 

            Percy quirked an eyebrow at him and nodded, so Nico laid his cards down, saying “Two pair, King high.” His eyebrow twitched again, but this time it was accompanied by a slight tightening around his eyes. Nico had him. Percy put his cards down, saying “Two pair, Queen high.”

 

            Nico whistled and nodded towards his cup. Percy threw his head back and gulped it down in a practiced motion. When he put the cap back down on the table, filling two cups, one for each of them, Nico grabbed the deck and looked at his with hooded eyes. “Well…Percy, call the game?” 

 

            The pair played for a good hour and, Nico winning most but Percy keeping up with him well. It was a shame Percy didn’t realize Nico was trying to booze him up to get him nice and pliant and amicable. Nico won out at the end when they finally called it quits for the sake of their livers’. Though he was feeling the effects of the alcohol pretty severely from not drinking too often, Percy seemed to be only slightly tipsy, more acclimated to drinking regularly.

 

            They stand up and Percy slings an arm over his shoulders. “You are a worthy opponent, my friend.”

 

            Nico flushed and reveled in the warmth of Percy at his side. His hand was resting on his opposite shoulder and rubbing small circles on the sleeve of his shirt, dipping under the fabric every other brush. The crook of his elbow was resting against the back of his neck and Percy was leaning in to breath hotly in his ear. “Well, Nico, you are quite the little boy.”

 

            Nico scowled at him but it was hard to stay sullen with Percy so close to his face. “There is nothing little about me.”

 

            That feral smile was back and Nico shivered at the intensity of it. “Oh, is that right?”

 

            “Yes.”

 

            “Yes?”

 

            “Yes.”

 

            Percy leaned a little closer and nipped at the top curve of Nico’s ear. “Mm. We’ll have to see about that, wont we?”

 

            Nico felt Percy’s hand slide across his lower back and the fingertips begin to dip into his waistband, but before he could go any further, Grover rounded the corner with the same girl from earlier hanging on his hip and spotted them. Grover came right over and hit Percy playfully on the arm that wasn’t slung over Nico’s shoulders. Surprisingly, Percy didn’t pull away when Grover came over. In fact, to Nico’s shock, he pulled him a little tighter to his side and rested the hand that was playing with his waistband boldly on Nico’s hip, a gesture that was both protective and possessive at the same time, a heady combination. 

 

            It was only when Annabeth came over, his sister and a few other people he didn’t recognize trailing behind her, did Percy release him, a fact for which he was both disappointed and grateful for. 

 

            Annabeth eyed him coolly, something about her gaze infinitely calculating and unsettling, but once again, her gaze was not completely unfriendly. Percy strutted over to her and pulled her into a big hug, pulling away to place a hand on her hip, one of her hands resting on top of his, the other wrapping around his waist. Nico tried to keep the venom from his glare, but Hazel was raising an eyebrow at him and smirking, so maybe his efforts were a little on the thin side. 

 

            Grover tapped him on the arm to get his attention. “So, Nico. This is my girl, Juniper. You remember me talking about her, tight?”

 

            The girl, Juniper, gave him a small smile which he returned tentively. She seemed nice and Grover was strangely right, she did resemble a tree in some ways; willowy, tall, and elegant. He continued, pointing at different members of the group.

 

            “You know Perce already, and I hear you already met Annabeth. This is Piper,”-native American looking girl with feathers in her hair-“her boyfriend Jason,”-tall, buff, and blond-“Leo,”-Spanish, impish, and quirky-“Frank,”-Asian, big, and nervous looking-“and his girlfriend Hazel.”

 

             Hazel came up to him then, giving him a quick hug before addressing the group. “Guys, this is Nico. My half-brother I told you about?”

 

            The others nodded and gave him a mix of hellos, but Frank stuck his hand out to him. “Nico to meet you in person Nico, Hazel talks a lot about you.”

 

            Nico shuffled his feet uncomfortably but took the hand anyway. He didn’t have small hands by any means, but they were still swallowed whole by Frank’s huge meat claws. The guy sure was brawny, and Hazel was so small, he didn’t know how…changing the subject now.

 

            “Hey, Frank. You too.”

 

            Leo came up to him next, slinging his arm over his shoulders in a poor comparison to the way Percy did before. The guy was bouncing with energy; he could feel his body just quivering with it. “So Nico, my man. You wouldn’t happen to be interested in becoming a willing participant in some non-life threatening experiments and procedures, would you? It is completely risk-free, just testing some new equipment and devices I have designed. I would test them myself, but I am not an unbiased third party, you see? You just need to sign some paperwork,  agreeing that it is not my responsibility if you catch fire, come to harm from dangerous chemicals, acquire some work-related accidents that cause your body or mind harm, potential death or-”

 

            “Dude!” Percy interrupted him by shoving his shoulder good-naturedly. “Give the guy a break, would ya? Go find some other poor, unsuspecting sop to put at risk.”

 

            Leo grinned wickedly and raised his hands in false surrender. The blond, Jason, ruffled Leo’s hair and talked over his head. “Sorry, bro. usually his girl, Calypso, is here to rein him in but she’s not here tonight. He’s harmless, but he gets more annoying the longer you know him.”

 

            That earned him an indignant huff from the accused and some quip that he missed because everyone seemed to evolve into their own conversations jus then. Nico stood there awkwardly, half listening to what everyone was saying, but mostly trying to look at Percy without being too obvious. He was talking with Annabeth and her hand was moving in slow circles just above his hip. His shirt was riding up where her palm was resting and he had never been jealous of a hand as much as he was then.

 

            He was pulled out of his reverie when he noticed Percy’s voice was louder than everyone else’s, effectively grabbing their attention. “So, everyone.” He reached up and to his upper lip and stroked it and made some sort of rubbing motion with his thumb and index finger…dear Lord, did he just twirl his imaginary mustache? That shouldn’t be the cutest thing he has ever saw in his life, but…it was pretty freaking adorable. 

 

            “What do you say? Black Eros or Titan’s Club?”

 

            Annabeth was the first to speak, looking Nico directly in the eye with that gleam in it that he was secretly calling the ‘definitely-up-to-something’ look. “We haven’t been to Eros in a while, not since last term let out.”

 

            Percy smirked and bowed. “The lady has spoken, are there any objections?”

 

            No one spoke.

 

            “Great!” He exclaimed. “Black Eros it is.”

 

            Jason clasped hands with Percy and pulled Piper along behind him. “I’m afraid we’re out this time, man. We have other things to do.”

 

            He sent a wink towards everyone and Nico blushed, fairly confident he knew exactly what he was hinting at. Piper didn’t even seem remotely embarrassed about how blatantly obvious he was being, or anyone besides him for that matter. If anything, they seemed pleased. He was really going to have to get used to this group’s dynamics. Assuming he was going to be around long enough to need to.

 

            Seeing his opportune moment when everyone was watching the retreating couple, Nico started to eases his way back from the group. Before he could very far though, Annabeth grinned and elbowed Percy in the ribs, catching his attention. He followed her eyes and called after Nico when he was just about to escape around the corner. 

 

            “Hey! Where do you think you’re going, Neeks? The party is just starting.”

 

            Nico wished that his cheeks would stop burning; it was harder to hide his emotions and thoughts when his damn body kept getting in the way. “Um, hm?” Smooth Nico, real smooth. 

 

            Percy laughed and dropped his arm from Annabeth’s shoulder, striding up to him and patting him on the back before resting his hand at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. “You’re going too. Now come on, the party awaits.”

 

            “Um,” Nico tried again, “I’m just 18, I don’t I’ll be allowed in. but thanks anyway.”

 

            Percy squeezed his shoulder and started to lead him towards the front of the house. Judging from the footsteps he heard behind them, the others were following. It looks like Nico would be attending his first college party and club on the same night. “Nonsense. You’re with me.”

 

  
            With a wink, he was led outside and they stopped in front  of a blue 1969 Dodge Charger. He whistled and ran his hands along its hood, looking at the paint job reverently. “Is this your charger? 2 barrel or 4 barrel?”  


 

            Percy raised his eyebrows at him but patted the hood and smirked at him, obviously proud. “4 barrel. I just got her new paint job done last year and wax her every 3 months. I put a 440 fuel injected engine in and am currently working on putting in a supercharger.”

 

            “If you’re planning on racing it, I’d put in a turbo instead. Even though a supercharger has less lag, a turbo has more overall power. If you really want to be efficient, I’d go for a twin turbo. Now that’s sexy.”

 

            Nico looked up and caught the other’s eyes and held, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. ‘He knows cars.’

 

            Percy looked like he wanted to say something more, but Annabeth came up and hugged him forcibly from behind. “Alright boys, let’s not have an orgasm over a car here. Come on, clubbing time.”

 

            Nico realized then how close he was leaning toward the other boy and stepped back hastily, once again feeling the blood rush to his face. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his sister standing with the door to her white Honda Civic open and Leo and Frank already inside. He started to walk towards her but she held up her hand and yelled at him to stop. “Sorry, Nico. Juniper is gonna ride with us, we’re gonna have some girl talk on the way over there. You can ride with Percy.” 

 

            He looked over at Grover, but apparently he was leaving his car here for now, because he was already in the back of the charger. Annabeth winked at him before she climbed in the front passenger seat, leaving only him and Percy standing there like idiots. Well, _he_ felt like an idiot, Percy was grinning at him like he would wait there all night for him to decide what he was going to do.

 

            Resigned to his fate, he slid into the seat behind Annabeth and looked pointedly out the window, all but ignoring when Percy started the engine and peeled out onto the street.

 

* * *

  


 

            Hazel waited until the charger was moving before she turned to Frank and smiled at him sweetly. “Frank? You wanna move to the back and switch placed with Juniper?”

 

            “What? Hazel, you’re kicking me to the back?” He glanced back at Leo to see that he was fiddling with some sort of device, but he lowered his voice anyway and leaned in close. “With Leo?”

 

            Hazel smacked him upside the head, a small ‘ow’ escaping Frank, and gave him a disapproving look. “Be nice. You’ll be fine.” She grinned at Juniper nodded at her to get out. 

 

            Frank, with no small amount of hesitancy, withdrew from the car and traded place with Juniper. The tall girl hoped in excitably and turned up the music in the back of the car so they could talk without too much interference from the boys. Hazel checked on the boys once more, Frank had his head buried in his hands and Leo was still fiddling with the device and a screwdriver but he was talking animatedly to Frank now, much to the other boys sorrow.

 

            “So,” she started, “what do you think about Nico?”

 

            Juniper smiled at her and turned the back stereo up just that bit more before replying. “He seems nice Hazel. He’s your half-brother right?”

 

            “Yup. He lived with our dad and my half-sister Bianca in L.A. It’s going to be great seeing him more often. What else do you think about him?”

 

            “What do you mean, ‘what else do I think about him?’ He’s short I guess, but I kind of like that. You know Grover is short, not that he’s _short_ short, but he is rather short for a guy at his age, don’t you think? But like I said, I don’t mind that, it makes me feel tall. Speaking of tall, I bought these new shoes that-”

 

            Hazel sighed and looked at her with an amused pinch between her brows. She knew that Juniper was doing her babble on purpose to mess with her, unlike Grover who does his babble-mode unconsciously. 

 

            Juniper laughed and relented. “Oh, you mean what do I _think_ about him? Him and Percy?”

 

            Hazel rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. It’s pretty obvious that he likes him. The boy has never been as good at hiding his feelings as he thinks he is.”

 

            “Percy seems to like him.”

 

            Hazel eyed her while pulling the car into the street, heading toward the club. “That’s what worries me. “You think that he’s going to hurt him?”

 

            She sighed. “Yes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Percy, but I love my brother more. I don’t know if he can handle all of Percy. Maybe I’m underestimating him, but I don’t want to see him get hurt.” 

 

            “We all know Percy. Yes, he does see a lot of people, but did you see the way he looked at him tonight? I think we should just let it play out for a while. See where it goes? I don’t know.”

 

            Hazel pulled up to a stop light and came to a halt, turning to face Juniper fully. “Maybe you’re right. But if he hurts him, or I even think that he is coming close to hurting him, I am going to get real nosy. Is that bad?”

 

            Juniper laughed and patted her on the shoulder, letting her know the light changed. “No, any sis would do the same. I will even help with the revenge.”

 

            Reassured, Hazel finally let herself relax and cleared her mind to enjoy herself tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to point out that I am sorry if the way I portray Annabeth or Piper in this story is not your cup of tea, but that is the way I decided, as an author, to approach it. My reasons are solely by my own logic that since Piper is a child of Aphrodite, she was a viable option as a character to have many romantic interests, tamed of course by Jason, since I believe that their relationship is strong. Annabeth, being a child of Athena, I believe would have mixed feelings about men, with Percy being of course an exception, but with her wanting to explore if it’s not just him. This was not an attempt at “Annabeth-bashing”-au contraire; Annabeth is one of my favorite characters of all time.  
> Blame it by Jamie Foxx here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rfjtpp90lu8  
> The alcoholic beverage Nico first drank that smelled of “rubbing alcohol” is Vodka, which smells exactly like rubbing alcohol, no joke.  
> Neither the Black Eros Club or Titan’s Club exist to my knowledge.  
> Here is the link to Percy’s car: http://www.motortopia.com/cars/1969-dodge-charger-17810
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	4. Friday, August 22nd continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and leaving kudos!

            Nico turned around in the backseat until he couldn’t see his sister’s car anymore. When he faced the front again, he caught Percy’s eyes on him in the rearview mirror. The streetlamps cast shadows over his face and made his eyes shine with every passing. They were so green; surely something so beautiful was not natural.

            Annabeth cleared her throat and looked at him over her shoulder, her blond hair falling in her face. She really was beautiful, Nico realized. If he liked girls, he was sure that he would find her very attractive. But it was her boyfriend that did it for him. And he _really_ did it for him.

            Alex was one of the only serious relationships he had been in. Before him, he dated a girl that he never truly liked enough to be more than friends and she was only dating him, he found out later, as her beard. He wouldn’t have minded, but the lying had hurt and he didn’t know how he felt before then.

            He dated another boy his freshman year in high school, but that had been a two-week joke; he didn’t even remember the boys’ name. When he met Alex later on in his freshman year, it was like seeing the light of the future. He was sweet and caring and the most exciting thing to have happened to him in his young life at the time. He considered him his first sincere kiss, the first to show him what he thought love was, and his _first_.

            _He remembered how nervous he was laying down in his bed at Alex’s dads place, his father gone for the weekend for some kind of conference. Alex was hovering over him on all fours, both of them puffy lipped and panting with exertion. He had touched his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips. “Are you ready?”Nico nodded and closed his eyes. Quickly, without any other foreplay, Alex stretched him open almost perfunctorily and slammed home. Nico had cried out in pain and pleasure. He felt tears cloud his vision so he closed his eyes. Alex had come quickly, emptying himself into the condom, then quickly withdrew, tossed it, and fell fast asleep. He didn’t even notice that Nico hadn’t come and that he was flagging._

            From then on, they never had penetrative sex, just sticking to oral and hand jobs. Alex had quickly tired of him after that and that had led him to…well, the other reason he was so willing to leave home was because of what that stronzo did.

            “So,” Annabeth started, “what are you here to study Nico?”

            “Um, creative writing and Romanic Languages.”

            Annabeth looked at him a little longer as if trying to see if he was joking, but she just nodded and turned back around. Percy, on the other hand, was staring at him in the rearview mirror with his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. Nico stared back and frowned at him. He was about to ask him what the look was for when Annabeth gasped and grabbed for the wheel, saving them from going off the side of the road.

            “Jeez, Seaweed Brain! Keep your eyes on the road.”

            He apologized and focused on the task at hand again. Nico had a small smile on his face, quietly pleased that he caused him to become so distracted. He made sure to hide it fast though, because he was still sending him glances from the front seat.

            They pulled onto a side street and Nico could see the luminescent blue sign that said “Black Eros”. The sign had a cupid shooting an arrow into the ‘o’ and a black backdrop. There was a line reaching all the way to the end of the street and a bouncer that looked like he wrestled for a living at the door. He let a couple in and Nico could see flashing blue and purple lights coming from inside. He could feel the bass of the music pumping into the car.

            Percy parked on the opposite side of the street in a handicapped parking place. When Nico raised an eyebrow at him in question, he winked and pulled a handicapped permit to hang on the mirror. It read “Chiron Kronos”. He decided not to ask. They didn’t have to wait long when Hazel’s Civic pulled in beside them, also in a handicapped parking place.

            Nico got out of the car and met his sister at her door. “So, whose permit is yours?”

            She locked the door and checked her hair in the side view mirror. “Professor Chiron’s.”

            “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious if both our cars have his permit?”

            She sighed and looked at him with her ‘I’m-your-big-sister-trust-me-eyes.’ “Nico, no one is going to look that close when they see it hanging on the mirror. Don’t worry so much. Relax, have some fun tonight.”

            He shook his head but decided to drop it. They all headed to the club, and strangely, right toward the doors, skipping the long line of people waiting to get in. Percy slowed down until he was walking beside Nico, bumping his shoulder amicably. “Stick close to me for a few minutes until I get you in. Don’t worry so much, princess, I’ll get you in no problem.”

            Nico started the protest the name calling but Percy plowed on like he knew Nico was about to tell him off. “Once we’re inside you can wander off to wherever you like.” Patting him on the back, he added a flirtatious wink directed at his lips, “Feel free to stick as close to me as you like inside as well.”

            Nico blushed crimson and tried to look taller and more confident once they reached the bouncer. Percy and the burly man bumped fists and hugged it out, the others nodding and saying hello to him as they went in the door. Instead of following them like he wanted to, he stayed next to Percy like he told him to. It was a good thing, because the next person in line tried to tag along in the group unnoticed but the bouncer saw them and clapped the person on the back, harshly throwing him out of the line and telling him to get lost. He was a strange looking man with large glasses and a shirt that had a ton of eyeballs all over it. Nico wasn’t sure if he found it interesting or disturbing.

            With his attention back on Percy, his scowl melted into a smile. “Percy! You haven’t been around lately.”

            Percy laughed and clapped his arm. “Argus, I know, I know. I’ll be around more probably, college just started up. Doors are going to be busy I bet.”

            Argus coughed out a roaring laugh. “Yes, tonight we are quite full but soon business will be booming.” He nodded his head toward Nico. “Who’s this then?”

            Nico shifted uncomfortably and hesitantly met his eyes, but Percy answered for him.

            “This is Nico. He’s new in town so I’m showing him the good parts of New York.”

            Argus looked at him with eyes that said he knew what was really going on here, but Nico just frowned in confusion. _He_ didn’t even know what was going on here. “Alright,” he said, opening the door and gesturing them to come inside. “Have fun tonight. Rachel is in the back tonight, says she has something for you.”

* * *

 

            Percy guided Nico in front of him and they came into a long hall filled with pulsing lights coming from where the room he assumed was when the hall cut to the left. There was loud music playing, some sort of techno-indie-pop mix that had an easy rhythm for dancing.

            When they turned the corner, the hall opened up into a large space. The light was brighter here but darker at the same time. People filled the place; dancing on the floor, making out on couches and roped off areas in corners, walking around drinking. Most of the occupants were young but he had the feeling he was one of the youngest.

            As soon as they stepped fully into the room, Percy whisper-yelled in his ear that he had to go see somebody and that he would be back soon. He watched helplessly while he dissolved into the crowd and looked nervously around him. He really didn’t want to draw attention to himself but he wasn’t exactly in the mood for socializing either.

Instead of standing out by walking the outskirts of the small mob gathered on what he assumed was the dance floor, he chose to walk through the dancers, still avoiding the center. He was wading through an endless sea of people. At least that’s what it felt like. He couldn’t see anything except hands in the air and the hair of the nearest person whipping in front of him. He was nudged and bumped against, grinded and groped, and even felt a well placed smack to his ass.

            He must have been close to the edge because the people were starting to thin out again. He came to an abrupt halt when a figure swooped in front of him, giving him just enough time to skid to a stop but still managing to bump his nose into the person’s chest.

            When he looked up, following that bulky chest to broad shoulders, a muscular neck, and a finally a smirking twist of lips, he saw an unfamiliar face with a very familiar gleam in his eyes. Almost as if he took Nico’s accidental brush as consent, he wound a meaty arm around his waist and pulled him tight against his body. Nico stiffened but the man didn’t notice, just continues swaying with the music and grinding against the uncomfortable boy. He tried pushing him away and yelling at him over the music but he couldn’t hear him and interpreted his fighting as trying to pull him even closer.

            Nico was starting to panic. A full blown, hyperventilating, snot-crying, paper bag and all, panic attack. He couldn’t see any of his friends, hell, he could barely see around gigantor’s tank of a chest to the rest of the club. The music seemed too loud, the lights were flashing too bright, it was too hot in there, why were they blowing air straight from the pits of Tartarus into this stupid club? He couldn’t breathe, oh gods, he couldn’t breathe, where did all the oxygen go? Was it converted into poison, or was that just his sandpaper throat begging for a drink talking?

            He hadn’t had a panic attack since the day Alex broke up with him in front of all those people, running off to cower behind the bleachers until Bianca found him and took him home. That was the last day that Nico cried; he cried so hard that he was sure that the reason why he never cries anymore was because he cried enough tears for a life time that day. He was simply run dry.

            He felt like crying now. He could feel the angry tears gathering behind his eyes, burning like acid and struggling to be given permission to fall freely, but he would not let them. No, he refused.

            Calming his breathing, he relaxed his body completely and put all the tension in his shoulders, ready to put his years of training to good use. Before he could so much as twitch his arm to maneuver his way out of the strong grip, they dropped of their own accord. Confused, he looked up at the man who was so unwilling to let him go mere seconds ago, but he was staring out above his head at something behind him.

            Turning his head, he came face-to-face with another chest, this one slimmer with lithe, muscular bare arms attached to them. Nico blushed when he realized that Percy had come to his rescue.

            Mustering the courage to look at those gorgeous sea-green, he mumbled over the music, “I got this, Perce.” The older boy just sent him a withering glance filled with amusement, and turned back to the giant that captured him a minute ago. His face did a complete three-sixty when he looked back at the man; his eyes turned stormy with anger and his face hardened as stone, his voice gruff with impatience.

            “Don’t you have something to be doing right now, Noel?” He hadn’t raised his voice but the man could hear him perfectly well over the music. Even if he couldn’t hear him, Nico was pretty sure that he would get the message just from the intensity of his glare that contained the wrath of the entire ocean in it. God, that gaze, that was…hot, if he was honest.

            To Nico’s surprise, the man gave a sharp nod shrunk a little under the glare. “Yes, sorry, Mr. Jackson.” He didn’t even spare Nico a second glance before he was scampering off with his tail tucked between his legs. Percy was still staring off at the man, but he quickly turned his eyes toward the smaller boy when a hand was waved in front of his face.

            His grimace was replaced with a sly smile, and he took Nico’s hand in his own, threading their fingers together. “Come on, want to get a drink?”

            Nico blushed but nodded hesitantly. Percy just smirked and tugged him along through the crowd. They went up onto a rise of sorts where the bar was located. He pulled him right up and sat him on the stall, waving the bartender over, an impish young man with twinkling eyes that begged you not to leave your possessions unwatched with him around.

            The man was cleaning a glass out when he spotted them. “Percy,” they reached out and pulled each other into a half-hug across the counter, “What’s up, man?”

            “Hey, man. This is Nico,” a gesture toward him that caused him to nod slightly uncomfortable, “he’s new here.”

            The bartender held his hand out and Nico bumped his fist half-heartedly. “Hey, name’s Conner. Welcome to B.E’s, Nico.” He gave him another nod and looked at Percy, hoping for him to take the lead.

            He opened his mouth, but a hand on his shoulder distracted him. Annabeth, with her beautiful curls and sparkling eyes, was looking between him and Percy with a smirk. Nico tried to keep the glare from surfacing, but she seemed to catch it anyway. Raising her eyebrow, she looked back at Percy and put on a charming smile. “Dance with me?”

            Percy stood and wrapped his arm around her waist, shaking hands with Conner and smiling at Nico. “Be back later, man. Have a drink on me.” They walked away with Annabeth already swaying her hips to the music and leading Percy further in the crowd.

            He turned back toward the bar when he heard Conner ask, “What can I get for you, Nico?” Barely thinking about it, he blurted “Scotch on the rocks.” The man shook his head and got a glass out from under the counter. “Cool, cool. Like it hard, do you?”

            Nico flushed crimson and looked at the blonde with disbelief. When he noticed the kid staring at him with red ears he burst into laughter and had to wipe some tears out of his eyes. “Ah, I didn’t mean it like that. Happy coincidence, swear! I was talking about your drink.” Nico nodded his head uncertainly but decided not to comment.

            Nico stared back out over the dancers and unconsciously searched for unruly black hair and sea-green eyes. He snorted. Okay, so maybe his searching was not completely ‘unconscious’. Who was he kidding? He wasn’t even being subtle about picking the crowd of dancers apart to find that boy, that man.

            The group parted a little bit and then there they were. He saw red and green, and not because of the changing lights; and definitely not a pleasant red and green, more like a maddening tinge of anger and a queasy green wove of jealousy.

            Annabeth had her back to him, so at least he didn’t have to look at her stupid perfect face. She was facing Percy with her arms wound around his neck and her face pressed into his shoulder. She was pressed flat against his body, one leg in between his so she was almost sitting on his hip. He had one arm around her upper back and the other one rubbing circles on her lower back. They were moving with the music. _More like dry-humping_ , Nico thought.

            Slowly, he raised his eyes and met those emeralds straight on, staring at him over the blonde’s head. Nico felt his cheeks heat and his mouth fall open a little, completely dry. Without breaking eye contact, the moved his hand lower and placed it in the back pocket of her jeans. He was whispering something in her ear, but he was watching Nico like he was daring the younger boy to break eye contact.

            When he placed a kiss on her neck and gave him a slow smile, Nico turned away as fast as possible, not sure that he could take ogling at the couple any longer without either stomping over there and ripping the bitch off of him and attaching himself in her place or acquiring a rather awkward problem that he so did not want to deal with in public at the moment, not with his second tightest jeans on.

            Gulping he watched Conner place his drink in front of him and looked at him pleadingly. “Can I get a shot of vodka with that?” the bartender looked at him with something akin to sympathy, Nico did not want to analyze that, and said, “Sure kid.” He poured the shot quickly and Nico chugged it as soon as it was in his hand, taking his scotch at the same pace after it. The tastes didn’t complement each other that well, but then again it was just what he needed.

            “Hey, Nico! How do you like it? It’s different than what you’re used to, but fun, huh?” Hazel was sitting next to him with Frank’s arm over her shoulder. She looked happy with him but it would be hard for him to think of anyone worthy of her. Even though she was only his half-sister, he loved her just as much as Bia and wanted her to be happy. If the giant Canadian-Chinese teddy bear made her happy, then that was that. He would still have to have the talk with him later now that he finally met him in person.

            “Haze. Yeah, it’s good to be out. I hope you guys don’t party like this all the damn time, though. I’m not going to find time to get anything done, if so.” She peeled off into laughter and gave him a tight hug. “Of course we do. We’re college kids, have some fun!”

            He still looked at her skeptically and ran his finger around the rim of his empty glass. She narrowed her eyes at him and gave him her motherly look, even though he was sure she was halfway drunk. “Don’t give me that look. I’ll give you some pointers on how to balance everything out.” Her grin turned mischievous when she glanced over his shoulder. “And I’m sure Percy will love to help you out with that, too.”

            Snorting, he rolled his eyes at her and followed her eyes behind him. Percy was flouncing his way towards them with Annabeth. He sighed, “I fear he’s either going to be my panacea or the cause of my demise in my ephemeral life.” His sister was laughing at something Frank said, so apparently he didn’t hear him. That was good; she really didn’t need to hear him getting all soppy and poetic.

            They reached the bar and he sat down next to Nico, Annabeth in his lap. Nico tried to avoid eye contact but he was pulled almost like a magnet to meet those beautiful eyes. He had on that dopey smile that screamed ‘love me, I’m cute like a puppy dog’ and it was hard to resist. It really was. Even though he could feel his face heating even more in the already impossibly hot club and his heart take off at a million miles an hour, he couldn’t look away from those mesmerizing orbs. He was trapped and he really didn’t see himself getting out of it anytime soon. Not that he wanted to, but everyone else was staring at him and it was getting a little uncomfortable because he completely forgot they were there and where they were and that he still had that bitch on his lap but he should be that bitch on his lap…wait, no. Where had that come from? Di immortales!

            He coughed and just managed not to pull on the collar of his shirt nervously and instead raised it and called out to Conner, “Another shot, please, Conner.” He was proud that his voice only cracked once and it didn’t come out hoarse or suspiciously thick. Sneaking a glance at Percy made him realist that maybe he didn’t cover it up as well as he thought.

            He winked at the boy and then at the bartender. “Sorry Travis, he’s new here. Make that 5 shots!” Nico looked at him confused, but Percy jammed his thumb further down the bar where another blond with the same sneaking gleam in the eyes was pouring a green-haired girl’s drink. “That’s Conner and Travis Stoll. Brothers.” Nico rolled his eyes, embarrassed, but tried to cover it up with a derisive snort. “Obviously.”

            An obnoxious whoop from his left by Frank and Hazel caused everyone to turn and look at Leo pulling up a chair to drape his arms around Frank and Hazel, Grover pulling a blushing Juniper into his lap. “Nope, make that 8 shots!”

            Percy turned back to Conner, er, Travis, and singed, “8 shots it is!” accompanied by a chorus of whooping from the group of friends. Excluding Nico, who sat trying to look like he didn’t know any of them while at the same time pretending these people could actually like him.

            The shots were placed in front of them and they all scooped them up and held them in the air. Percy raised his voice and called everyone to attention. “Mm mm hm!” he cleared his throat, “Ladies,” a nod at Annabeth, Hazel, and Juniper, “Gents,” a nod at Frank, Leo, and Grover, “Pretty Lady,” a wink at Nico and a punch in the shoulder and blush from the younger boy, “a toast to starting this year off right and, making new memories, kicking some ass, and meeting and getting to know new people.” At the last part, he stared into Nico’s dark eyes with hooded lids and a knowing smirk. Everyone cheered and even Nico gave a small smile, letting some of his inhibitions be taken away with the alcohol and winking right back at a pleasantly surprised Percy.

            Everyone slammed their glasses down on the table and grinned at each other. The music was slinky and the air was smoky, giving the club an exotic and dangerous vibe to it. Nico could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins and he knew for a fact that he should not eat the delicious brownies people tried to get him to eat but he thought the point was mute because he was pretty sure that Bianca would kill him and Hazel if she knew where he was and that there was a definite smell of pot wafting through the room. The rational thing to do was probably get out of there before it became too much, but Nico was doing that thing again. That thing where he did stupid stuff even though he knew it was stupid because it was a better option than going to be alone in a new place where wasn’t even comfortable at yet.

            So call him a dumbass, but when Percy looked at the group of college kids with raised eyebrows and a Cheshire cat grin and said, “Jell-o shots, anyone?” he did his little happy dance on the inside and said to hell with being lonely tonight and cheered with everyone else.

            Percy drummed his hands on the counter until the other bartended, Conner, the one with the bright yellow shirt, came over and twisted him a smile like he was a little brother that he indulges. “Can we get a couple Jell-o shots, my fine sir?” He rolled his eyes and put two shot glasses filled with Cherry Jell-o and vodka in front of him. “Lemme know when you want more.”

            Nico had never done Jell-o shots before, but he had seen them done on MTV. What was that spring break show called? Anyway, that show was uncomfortable to watch.

            Percy waggled his eyebrows at Annabeth and patted her bottom where she sat on his lap. “Well, what do you say?” She grinned and glanced over at Nico, her smoldering look nullified by the calculating narrowing of her eyes. Her lip twitched into a smile at him and he tilted his head to the side, all of a sudden uneasy. She widened her eyes when she looked back at Percy, innocently blinking her eyes and puffing out her chest.

            Instead of answering, she leaned over and gave him a sloppy kiss and hoped up on the counter. She had a denim jacket on, so she pushed it down her shoulders until there was a nice amount of cleavage popping out of her tank top, even more pronounced with her trying to push her elbows together to squish them up. Nico rolled his eyes at that. He would never understand girls.

            Picking up one of the Jell-o shots, he grinned at her cheekily and nosed in between her breasts before placing the shot glass down far enough for it to be stable. He then winked at Nico and dived back down and shoved his tongue into the glass, stilling for a few seconds before coming back up with the cup between his teeth, throwing his head back and draining it.

            Nico watched jealousy with his head in between her breasts and hungrily when he exposed his long neck to swallow the Jell-o, his Adams apple bobbing enticingly with the movement. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned when her was done, depositing the empty glass beside Annabeth on the table.

            He stood between her legs and faced the rest of the group. “Who’s next?” Before anyone could speak up or Nico to hide behind his sister, Annabeth slung her arm over Percy’s shoulder and exclaimed loudly, “What about Nico? It looks like he needs to loosen up.” Oh, gods. That was what that look had been about. Does she think that he likes her? No, he glares at her too often. She keeps looking back and forth at him and Percy though…so…does she know he likes him? Does she mind? Is he trying to make him jealous, him or Percy, or both? He doesn’t really know if he’s into that. She crinkled her eyes at him and winks, causing him to retch slightly. Nope, he’s most definitely not into that.

            Percy, along with everyone else, seemed oblivious unfortunately. He looked at Nico with the brightest smile and even though he knew what was coming and he was absolutely going to say not only no, but hell no, when he opened his mouth and said “Well, what do you say Neeks?” and pouted his lower lip, and he hated that nickname so much, but it didn’t seem so bad when he said it, but he still melted right with that warm smile into a puddle of heat and feels and blurted, “Of course.” Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen, why was he always doing stupid stuff like that when it involved that Greek god? And he just called him a Greek god. Awesome. That wasn’t weird at all.

            He couldn’t find it in himself to regret it completely when he looked at him with such excitement and joy. When he smiled like that, it went all the way to his eyes and brightened that sea-glass green to something ethereal and irresistible.

            “Great!” he exclaimed, patting Nico on the back. His hand slid up to his neck where it played with some of the hairs curling there. Nico blushed and stood to move in front of Annabeth, Percy sliding out from between her legs to stand behind Nico, the warmth of his chest close enough to feel against his back. He shivered when he felt warm breath rustle the hair on the back of his neck and then long, muscular arms wound around him to reach Annabeth, placing the cup of Jell-o between her breasts.  

           Nico hesitated, eyeing a smirking Annabeth suspiciously, but Percy leaned over and pressed his lips to his ear. “Come on, go ahead. They don’t bite.” He huffed at the teasing tone but let out an embarrassing moan when he followed his comment with a gentle bite to his earlobe. To hide from seeing the others faces in case they heard, he swooped hesitantly down to the blonde’s cleavage and tried to make as little contact with her boobs as possible while at the same time still getting a good grip on the cup with his teeth.

            When he was sure the cup wouldn’t fall, he gulped it down while leaning his head back to rest on Percy’s shoulder. He felt a kiss planted on the side of his neck while swallowing, blushing all the way down to his chest. Leaning back up, he smiled shyly while the others clapped at him and handed the empty glass to Conner-Travis-whichever it was.

            Percy was still standing behind him, his front pressed to his back, and Nico almost sighed in disappointment-er, relief-when he pulled away to stand in front of him. Was he just imagining it, or was Percy giving him bedroom eyes? No…Percy hasn’t been all that subtle about flirting with him. Those were without a doubt bedroom eyes, and if they weren’t the sexiest thing that he had ever seen, then Nico was a disgrace to his Italian heritage, and dio mio, raccolgaci un’unica bandiera, una speme: di fonderci insieme!        

            Putting on an exaggerated sigh, he put his hands on his hips and shook his head in mock disappointment. “This isn’t bold enough to break you out of your shell. This calls for drastic measures. Yo, Connie, Travy, body shots over here.” The twins gave him a bow and looked at each other and said, “Tequila!”

            Nico watched in horror as Percy helped Annabeth down from the bar and took her place, pulling his shirt off over his head. Oh. Mm, well, there’s that. Nico lied, there was one thing sexier than Percy Jackson giving him bedroom eyes, and that was a shirtless Percy Jackson giving him bedroom eyes. Then he turned and laid on his side, his head toward Nico, giving him a predatory smile.

            The bartender with the red shirt, Travis, put a bottle of Tequila next to Percy’s head. He was holding a salt shaker in one hand and a lime slice in the other. “Ready, Perce?” Percy smirked at him and gestured to his stomach. Travis grinned and licked a spot over Percy’s ribs between his stomach and chest, pouring salt on the wet spot. Nico could see his stomach suck in a little at the sensation, causing his abs to be even more pronounced. Mm. There was nothing Nico wanted to do more than run his hands up and down his sides, feeling every curve and crevice and dip, and then trace that same path with his lips and tongue. Unfortunately, Nico is not nearly drunk enough to do that in public, with his new friends and Hazel watching, his poor innocent sister. At least, she hoped she was innocent. Ew. He did not want to think about that.

            Travis poured some tequila into the older boys belly button, just to where it was barely over flowing, and then moved up to smash a sloppy kiss on Percy’s lips, more tongue than lips, and then placed the lime in his mouth, the side you bite sticking out. Nico felt that jealous tug in his stomach again. Travis put the rest of the tequila still in the cup under Percy’s bellybutton, lightly brushing the start of his jeans.

            Annabeth pushed him forward slightly and Percy leveled him a challenging stare. Usually an issuance of a challenge was more than enough to get Nico to agree to anything, but he was still hesitant. He had never done anything like this before. I mean, yeah, he just did a Jell-o shot from Annabeth’s boobs, but a) boobs aren’t really his thing anyway, b) he didn’t actually have to make too much contact with her, and most importantly, c) this was Percy he was going to have his mouth all over. That made him excited and nervous at the same time.

            Travis saw his hesitation and stepped in before it could get any more awkward. “Never done one before? That’s cool. You just lick the salt off, drink the tequila, and then suck on the lime wedge. Easy Peasy.” A near identical blond head popped up next to his brother’s and he dittoed. “Lemon squeasy.”

            Percy rolled his eyes and took the lime out of his mouth, “You guys are such nerds.” Then to Nico, “Well, princess, are you gonna man up or do I need to have someone else get all of this elixir off of me?” Nico huffed at the name, but his eyes were teasing and he nodded back down at Percy. “Shut up and lay back down where you belong.” Surprised, Percy’s eyebrows rose into his hairline and he gave Nico that happy-go-lucky grin. “Feisty wench, aren’t you? Daddy like.”

            Nico felt his cheeks burst into flames but he kept his poker face on, even though he was sure it was smoking behind his mask. Leaning down slightly, he whispered, “We’ll see what Daddy likes.” Then he shoved the lime back into his mouth before he could answer, but his eyes widened to a near comical size and he could hear a low purr resonate in his chest. Well, Nico like too. Erm…he can’t believe he just said that.

            Almost as if in a haze, he decided that he was drunk enough to do this. He leaned over until his nose was barely touching the skin above where the salt was on his ribs, breathing cool air over the saliva slicked skin, watching as the stomach heaved slightly. Then he slowly licked a long, sour stripe over the taut skin of Percy’s stomach and dipped his tongue into the tequila in his belly button. He closed his lips around the gap and slurped, running his tongue in a teasing circle inside it, feeling coarse hair tickle his chin.

            He let it go with a pop, following some of the escaped liquor down his side. He realized that his hand was resting on his opposite hip, the bone jutting into his palm, and he took the cup between his teeth and drained it. He gave his hipbone a quick squeeze before moving up to look Percy straight in the eyes. His eyes were dilated and hooded, much like he assumed his looked like, the green darkening into something sparking with intent. He paused only for a second before wrapping his lips around the wedge in the other boy’s mouth and sucking hard on it, all the while putting the full force of his brooding dark orbs onto him.

            When he gripped the wedge with his teeth and tried to pull it away, he felt Percy’s own teeth tug on it playfully, before letting go and blowing a kiss at his retreating form. A little bit of the juice was dribbling down his chin enticingly. Nico let the lime drop into his hand put it in one of the empty glasses still sitting on the counter.

            “That was hot!” Both of the boys looked up at the Stoll brothers with smiles, Percy’s all easy-going confidence and Nico’s forced and a little uncomfortable with the attention. He harrumphed and slurred, “S’ not funny.” Maybe the alcohol was getting to him more than he would like to admit because now he couldn’t stop smiling and blushing at Percy.

            Annabeth hoped onto counter with him and laid down the other way, their legs mingling together. “Come on boys, more Jell-o shots over here!” four shots of Jell-o were placed by the college kids and then the Stolls’ were gone, off to help other customers.

            Percy took one of the shots and stuck his fingers in, dredging up some of the Jell-o while Annabeth finished pulling the tank top up to above her breasts. Percy sprinkled some of the Jell-o from her belly button up to between her breasts by the cups of her bra. He was on his knees on the bar, leaning over her and then he was eating the Jell-o off of her. Nico watched mesmerized, half way between jealousy that he wasn’t in her position and arousal from watching Percy’s pink tongue dart out to lick her skin. He settled with arousal and accepted the shiver that ran down his spine, but it quickly turned to jealousy again when he reached her boobs and suckled where the Jell-o was lying, leaving wet marks along the way.

            She giggled and it was all he could do not to pull her perfect hair out when he kissed her after he was done. It was a rather chaste kiss, both of their mouths were closed, but that hardly mattered. That was the third person he saw kissing Percy tonight and he was determined to be the next and the last.

            So when Travis came back over and asked, “Who’s up?” and Percy waggled his eyebrows at him, Nico was all game. Especially when his sister started to put more Jell-o on Annabeth, and that was definitely something he was not going to witness. One of the Stoll’s grabbed another cup of Jell-o and started to place it all over Percy’s abdomen, noticing Nico watch his every mood. So he smirked and decided to make it interesting.

            The bartender patted Percy’s thigh and the two’s eyes met, a silent conversation that ended in a nod and smirk from Percy. Nico didn’t catch the moment because he was too wrapped up in staring at the others boy’s lean six-pack, a fact that Percy didn’t miss. Travis unbuttoned and unzipped Percy’s jeans and tugged them down a little, revealing more dark hair and a nice ‘v’ leading down to his pelvis. That caused Nico to blush so hard that Percy thought his face was going to start watering from the heat. Travis pulled down his blue boxers until his hip bones were clearly defined and then proceeded to pretend he had no idea why the broody young man was blushing like a school boy.

            Nico had to do a double take at Percy’s pelvis for a multitude of reasons. 1) oh my gods, that guy unbuttoned his pants, 2) oh my gods, he pulled his underwear down some, 3) oh my gods, I’m looking at Percy Jackson’s underwear, 4) that ‘v’ line did things to him, 5) those hipbones made him want to bite into them and leave nice purple identical bruises on the bones, and 6) did his eyes deceive him or were those Little Mermaid boxers?

            He raised one of his eyebrows and looked at Percy quizzically. “Are you wearing…the Little Mermaid boxers?” He expected the older boy to be embarrassed or contrite but he just laughed and wiggled his hips a bit a winked. “Damn straight. You should see my Nemo ones.” Nico had to look away quickly before his smile threatened to spill over.

            Travis clapped his hands and walked away, so Nico looked back down at Percy’s body. The bartender had placed Jell-o as far down his abdomen as he could and still be on skin and then trailing all the way up his stomach and chest, in his belly button and in the hollow of his throat. Nico licked his lips hungrily; Percy looked delicious.

            Percy scoffed and Nico looked down at him. “You’re awfully cocky for being covered in Jell-o and without the upper hand here, Perce.” He meant to sound confident but he couldn’t keep his eyes away from his naked chest, so his point was probably shaky. Those eyes were bright with humor. “Mm. And you are about to lick it off of me, I think I am the one coming out on top.”

            He quirked his brow at that, “On top, huh?” Did he really just say that? Okay, he was probably drunker than he was telling himself. When did he become so bold? Probably sometime after his third beer, that scotch, and those vodka shots. Percy for his part only looked mildly surprised anymore, just biting his lower lip and pulling him closer by the shirt collar. “I’m sure I’d love for you to be on top, princess, but I don’t know if you can take control like that.”

            That made him narrow his eyes, accepting the challenge with a playful snarl. Not to be one upped, Nico balanced himself on the stool and heaved himself over the bar top, straddling Percy’s lower legs. He sat down until his weight rested on the others boy’s shins and placed his hand on either side of his waist. “Control? I rather like being…wild.” Percy shivered with hooded eyes and he knew that he had him.

            Nico bent over and started tonguing the flesh on his lower abdomen. His hair was coarse and ruff on his tongue, his skin salty, the perfect juxtaposition with the smooth sweetness of the Jell-o. He sucked the last of the Jell-o clinging to his boxers, half sucking flesh into his mouth and half wetting the boxers’ fabric. He then moved slowly up his stomach, opening his mouth wide and sucking as much flesh into his mouth as he could, as hard as he could, intermediated with soft kisses, licks, and gentle bites. When he reached his belly button, he decided he liked this part of Percy rather a lot, and then ran the tip of his tongue up to his chest, sucking and swallowing the alcoholic sweet as slow and sloppily as he could.

            He could feel Percy breathing roughly under his mouth, chest heaving and mouth letting out little pants. The last bit of Jell-o was gathered at the hollow of his throat, so Nico licked at it smoothly, scooping up as much as he could, until he latched onto the soft skin of his jugular and suckled until the all the sweetness was gone and only the salty tang of sweet mixed with his own saliva remained. He kept a little in his mouth and licked a long line from the base of his throat, over his bobbing Adams apple, until he reached the spot where it connected with his jaw.

            Nico was leaning over Percy on all fours now, forearms on either side of his head and knees clasped tightly against his hips, his hair falling into his face and dusting over Percy’s forehead. He was only an inch away from him, their noses touching, and Percy tilted his chin slightly up to get Nico to go for it. He stared into those roiling green eyes for only a moment before he slipped his eyes shut slowly and lowered his open mouth onto Percy’s, dropping that small piece of Jell-o in and immediately following it with his tongue.

            His lips were so soft and warm; kissing him was hot and wet, and he tasted of sea salt and candy apples. Percy’s tongue curled around Nico’s possessively, pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it. Nico was trying to break apart but he just couldn’t find the strength to tear his lips from the sweet haven he found. He managed to reclaim his tongue but he couldn’t help looking at the other boy with hooded eyes and swooping down for one, two, three loud and open mouthed kisses as he tried to chase the fading taste, dipping his tongue to where it barely delved in between the other boy’s lips, feeling him return the favor.

            He finally pulled away, if just where their lips were barely whispering against each other when they spoke. “My turn, Neeks.” Percy bit the corner of his mouth gently and that was when he noticed Percy’s hands were resting on his hips and as he was too sloshed to blush anymore, his blood deciding it had much better parts to rush to instead.

            Noticing that he was paralyzed, Percy smirked and smacked the side of his hip once before wrapping his arms around his waist and flipping them until they switched places, Nico lying on the bar with wide eyes and Percy resting his weight on the younger boy’s thighs.

            Stuttering, Nico tried to get up. “W-what are you doing, P-Percy?” He took advantage of the dark eyed boy’s position to grab his shirt by the hem and pull it upwards. It caught on his head and elbows because even though he wasn’t resisting, he wasn’t cooperating either. Percy rolled his eyes and yanked it the rest of the way off, leaving the other boy bare-chested.

            Nico felt exposed lying there in that club without his shirt on, but when he tried to cover himself and reach for his shirt, Percy grabbed him by the wrists and pulled them above his head. The counter was cool under his bare skin and Percy was a space heater above him. The lights were flashing purple and green now, the music a sensual rhythm, and he could feel the vibrations of people slamming their drinks down further down the counter. It was making him dizzy.

            Percy was oblivious to his racing thoughts, just staring down at the beautiful creature underneath him. He was pale and creamy, with perfect alabaster skin. He had a thin patch of dark hair leading down from his belly button and freckles over his chest and shoulders. His stomach and chest were lightly toned, as were his arms, and Percy could just imagine laying his head on his warm chest and dozing while listening to his heartbeat. Not that he would ever admit that, he had a rep to maintain.

            Smirking, he spread his hand over the middle of his stomach laughed when it caved in. “You’re hands are cold!” Nico tried his best to glare at the boy leaning over him but he found it harder and harder not to smile at him. His mood was infectious.

            “I told you, Neeks. It’s my turn.” He sat back on his heels and grabbed for the last cup of Jell-o. “Oh, and about the cold? This is going to be cold too, sweetheart.”

            Nico gasped a little when a glob of the Jell-o hit his stomach, but snapped his mouth closed upon seeing the other boy sniggering at him. Percy dropped Jell-o up and down his abdomen and throat. Nico just about jumped out of his skin when he dragged a Jell-o covered finger across his chest and circle one of his nipples. When he tried to buck Percy off of him, he ended up flopping back down when his hips ground against the older boy’s thigh, the sensation causing him to hit his head on the bar top and bare his neck.

            Chuckling, Percy leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Before he could ask which part he was talking about, he sat back up and reached for the button on his jeans. Nico’s face twisted with apprehension and he reached down to grasp his wrist. “Percy.” When the older boy met his eyes, he tried to be firm. “No.”

            Luckily, he seemed to understand his predicament and just gave him a short nod before his cocky grin was back. “Mm. You seem to have a problem here, Mr. Di Angelo. Don’t worry; I’ll take real good care of you.”

            Nico watched mesmerized as that that dark head dipped down until he felt something wet swipe over the skin by his belly button. Shivering, he tried to keep his eyes open as Percy greedily sucked the Jell-o off of his skin. He could feel him scraping his teeth gently against his ribs and watched as he moved upwards to his chest. That talented tongue did a detour to swipe the Jell-o off of his nipple, the cool air making it stand at attention when he moved on to his neck. When all the Jell-o was gone, Percy claimed the spot where his neck and met as his own by sinking his teeth in and sucking, rubbing his tongue over the tender flesh.

            Nico couldn’t help but to close his eyes at that and let his head fall back with a groan. He could have stayed like that all night, but someone yelled “get a room!” and then Percy was withdrawing with a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Delicious, just like I thought.”

            If he could blush anymore, he was sure that everyone would know how affected he really was. He worried for a split second that everyone would know anyway when Percy hopped off the counter but he was thankful that he was too drunk to keep it up without a warm body directly against his. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he was too thankful for it after all, not with Percy looking the way he was, apparently perfectly content to be fine without his shirt and shove it in his back pocket.

            He was about to shrug his shirt back on when it was yanked out of his hands and shoved forcibly into his back pocket. Nico grabbed for his belt to salvage him the embarrassment of them falling. They might be skinny jeans but that doesn’t mean they don’t slide.

            Glaring at Percy, he didn’t bother fighting him. “Why?” That infuriating sexy man just winked and held his hand out, bowing slightly like a real Disney Prince or something. “Dance with me?”

            He could feel his lips twitching, threatening to curl into a smile. Unfortunately, so did someone else. Annabeth strode over to them and wrapped a possessive arm around Percy’s waist. “Dancing! Let’s go.” She yelled at the others and they all high fived and came to swoop them away to the dance floor.

            Nico found himself being carted into the middle of a dance floor filled with sweating bodies and flying hormones. He was loathe to admit it, but he loved this. He loved that the music was so loud that his body was vibrating with it. He loved how the adrenaline and alcohol that thrummed through his veins was a tangible thing. He loved that there was so many people here that he didn’t know and that he would probably never see again. It was a powerful feeling, it made him feel invincible.

            But that didn’t mean that he was going to let it show that he was actually enjoying himself. So he was standing there, dancing half-heartedly to the beat of the music, with a stranger at his back and Percy in front of him dancing with Annabeth, barely having room to breathe. He didn’t recognize the song, but it sounded like something Bianca would like.

            He was busy trying to avoid looking at Percy so he wouldn’t have to see Annabeth all over him, but he still couldn’t help staring at his back. He had broad shoulders and his shoulder blades stuck out enticingly. Nico wanted to know what it would feel like beneath his hands. He raised his head up a little and noticed that Annabeth’s stormy eyes were staring at him. She smiled at him mischievously-almost maniacally?-and then turned around to dance with Juniper, grabbing her hand and twirling her in a circle.

            Percy swiveled around to face him and pulled him to his chest by his waist. Their bare chests moving against each other was probably one of the greatest feelings in the world, Nico decided. That didn’t mean that he was going to give in that easily, not when he was just dancing with Annabeth. Oh, no, that bastard was going to have to work for it.

            Somebody really should have told his treacherous body because the next thing he knew, his arms had lifted themselves and were slung carelessly around his shoulders, their bodies pressed together from their chests down to their thighs. Nico couldn’t decide if he wanted to pull him closer or push him further away, but the alcohol riddled part of his brain was making the decisions tonight, so that meant that he did the last thing he should have done. He started dancing.

            Dancing with Percy Jackson was invigorating and exciting and thrilling and better than anything he had experienced in a long ass time. They were smiling at each other with identical goofy smiles on their faces and gyrating their hips together in the only semblance of a dance they could be doing in the tight space they were allotted.

            When the song was finally over, Nico lowered his arms and tried to take a step back but Percy just bundled him tighter and whispered in his ear, “I’m not done with you yet.”

            He tugged Nico by his belt loops and then grasped his hand to lead him through the dancers who picked back up their furious moving. Percy dragged him until he was almost at the front of the crowd, where a bunch of dancers were banging on drums and shaking tambourines, paint flying off the instruments and hitting everyone in range.

            Nico had just enough to time to be thankful he wasn’t wearing his favorite pair of jeans before Percy pulled him by the waist and they were splattered by a multitude of different colored body paint. Percy was painted in blue and orange and purple and green and Nico was sure that that was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He could feel the paint dripping off his own body and the moment was so unreal that he couldn’t help but laugh.

            He threw his heads back and let out a truly genuine laugh. He felt arms wrap around his waist and he grinned at Percy, who was leaning over him and chuckling quietly. Nico smacked him lightly in the chest and playfully smeared some of the paint on his body. Percy laughed and did the same back to him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

            Nico rested his forehead on the boy’s chest, trying to hide his smile. Percy was having none of it though. He grabbed his chin tenderly and encouraged him to look into his eyes. Endless brown’s met the full force of the majesty of the seas and Nico felt like he was looking straight into his soul.

            Percy lowered his mouth until their lips met in a chaste kiss, both of them smiling and chuckling and overjoyed to be in each other’s arms. People were still dancing and banging on the drums around them, flinging paint every which way, but everything drowned out until the only thing that was left was the feel of the other boy’s warm flesh against his own and the gentle movement of their mouths sliding together.

            Nico was positive that nothing had ever felt more natural in his whole life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A ‘beard’ is, it is a person that someone dates of the opposite gender in order to avoid suspicion of them being homosexual.  
> Stronzo is Italian for asshole  
> In case you don’t know, “On the rocks” basically means “with ice”  
> dio mio, raccolgaci un’unica bandiera, una speme: di fonderci insieme! Is Italian for, my God, let one flag, one hope gather us all. It is an excerpt from Italy’s National Anthem. Nico’s just being sassy.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr! joslushie  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	5. Saturday, August 23rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the feedback and for reading! This is mostly a chapter dedicated to setting up plot for later.  
> Italics are dreams or flashbacks in this chapter.

_             Bianca and Hazel were down by the water, throwing a Frisbee back and forth and laughing. The beach was loud and crowded, filled with women in their prime sun tanning, children running around with ice cream, mothers wading in the water with their babies, and men guffawing and chugging beer that shouldn’t be allowed, but the life guards were lenient. _

 

_Nico was watching his sisters with a small smile tugging at his lips, happy that they had the chance to be together again. It had been so long since the three of them spent time with one another that Nico was starting to wonder if the opportunity would ever present itself again._

 

_It was a nice day. The sun was warm on his bare skin, enveloping him like it had been waiting all day for him to come outside to greet it. The sky was a sharp blue with not a cloud in sight and the water glistened with such intensity it was almost surreal. It was hot but manageable, a welcome heat that just made the water all the more appealing._

 

_Despite the girls’ best efforts, Nico was adamant that he was not going in the water. It wasn’t that he had anything against the water, quite the opposite in fact. Living in L.A. with the beach only 30 minutes away on a good day for traffic, he had learned to love the smell of salt and the bite of grit between his toes. The beach was his hiding place, if he was honest with himself. Whenever his dad became too much, or the bullies were trying extra hard that week, he would take his old car and speed to the coast. He would sit in the sand and stare out at sea. Sometimes he would bring a book or homework, but mostly he would just sit, stare, and think. The beach was probably his second home, if not his first._

 

_He never got in the water, though. The beach felt like home for some unwarranted reason, but he felt the most comfortable on solid ground; or underground if the occasion presented itself._

 

_Hazel bounded out of the water and threw herself into Frank’s arms, the boy swinging her around and rushing back into the surf. Bianca was doubled over laughing, red in the face and clutching her stomach at the look on Hazel’s face when Frank threw her into a wave. Laughing, Nico laid back on his towel and watched a flock of birds fly overhead, the definition of contentment._

 

_A hand grasped his bicep and a shadow fell across him. Turning his head, he opened his eyes languidly and gave a slow grin when he met Percy’s sea-green eyes, staring so affectionately into his own. He let out a contented sigh when Percy perched over him, shielding him from the sun. Nico laughed and closed his eyes again, hoping that Percy would let him be. Apparently that wasn’t his plan, because shortly after he was placing feather light kisses across his collar bone and tracing his arms with his finger tips._

 

_“Neeks…”_

 

_He opened one eye to glare at him in amusement, but Percy just laughed and kissed him on the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go in the water, Neeks.” He didn’t even think. The next moment he was on his feet and being pulled into warm water and even warmer arms, drowning in lazy tranquility._

 

_Percy was holding him tightly, pulling him further into the water until they were completely submerged. He wasn’t worried about breathing; he just kept looking at him through the clear blue of the water, a wide, openmouthed smile spreading across his face. Water was filling his nose and he was gulping it down by the mouthful every time he breathed in a laugh, but Percy was smiling at him like he was the only thing precious left in the world and he couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment. If this is what drowning felt like, he would gladly embrace it._

 

_The water was caressing his body in warm rivulets, pushing him and Percy flush against each other, eyes closed, feeling him breathe against his chest. The water muffled all sound of life except the pounding of his heart that he felt more than heard in his throat. The light behind his eyelids was fading too, fading from the reflection of bright blue waves to a dull brown that muddled everything around him. The air in his lungs was too thick, thicker than the water he had been swallowing, allowing him to breathe but settling too heavy in his chest for him to move._

 

_The feel of Percy’s arms slowly fell away and he was left floating in nothingness, alone and lost. He tried to open his eyes but they were firm, the water welding his eyelids shut like they were never meant to open. His arms were lying slack at his side, not even bothering to try to lift them, knowing it would be useless. He was breathing deeply, sucking in globs of thick honey and syrup that clogged his pores and left him desperate for a fresh breath of air, or anything other than the weighted pressure of too sweet artifice he was forced to choke down in fear of suffocating if he didn’t._

 

* * *

  

 

  
His panic ebbed and he could breathe more clearly, albeit in shallow huffs. He couldn’t feel the water anymore; instead he felt cocooned in a warm embrace that felt as good as a thousand soft teddy bears giving him a giant group hug. Although, that sounded more creepy than comforting, so perhaps no teddy bears.

 

            He gradually took in his surroundings. The first thing he became aware of was that he was extremely warm, almost too warm, and lying twisted up in his sheets and comforter on his bed. There was the dull sound of talking and laughter coming from the other side of the door that barely bled through the walls.

 

            Nico’s eyes twitched with the effort to pry them open, his eyelashes clumping together uncomfortably before he wretched them free in frustration. That was the second thing he became aware of; how much of a mistake that was.

 

            As quickly as he opened them, he squeezed them shut again. It was way too bright; the curtain over the window was drawn, so every possible corner of the room was lit, and he didn’t even have the luck of having the comforter already pulled over his head to shield him from it.

 

            His head was killing him. Every time his heart beat, the traitor his body was, it sent a shock through him that left his brain pounding Morse code into his skull and nausea rolling through him like waves with the tide coming in. Quickly assessing the rest of his body for more damage, he found his symptoms to be a head full of cotton, one hell of a headache, sore muscles, slow bodily reactions, sudden hatred of light and noise, and the uncontrollable urge to lean over the side of his bed and puke his frikkin guts out.

 

            Damn it, he had a hangover. He groaned and tried to turn his face into the mattress, but he moved too fast and all of a sudden he was right at the precipice, already halfway tumbling down toward the humiliation of getting sick right there in his bed. The quick movement felt like it gave him whiplash and he fell with a gasp back on the mattress, trying to ignore the throb it sent to his brain.  This was going to be a bitch, he could tell already.

 

            Ignoring the pain that shot to his head, he pulled himself into a sitting position, dangling his legs off the side of the bed and burying his face in his hands. After taking a few minutes to make sure the nausea wasn’t going to topple him back over, he raised his head and looked around the dorm. Thankfully Grover wasn’t there to see him humiliated like this. His bed was a mess so he must have been here, but Nico didn’t remember him coming back. Hell, he didn’t even remember how he got  _himself_  back.

 

            He tried to think back to last night, starting with everything that he remembered clearly…

 

            Grover and him driving to Piper’s house? Real. Him drinking? Real. Standing there awkwardly? Yes, sounds about right. Drinking some more? Most definitely real. Playing cards with Percy? Pretty sure that was real. Percy jumping across the table while they were playing cards and shoving his tongue down his throat while whispering sweet nothings to him in his native tongue? Yes, that was most definitely the alcohol. And that’s it, even the drive to the club was beginning to be fuzzy. Wait, club? Right, that happened.

 

             Okay, so what about the things that weren’t so easy to remember?

 

            He drank a lot of alcohol. Even though he didn’t remember what specifically he drank, he knew it was way more than he was used to, especially since he usually didn’t drink anything but wine. Did they do shots? Shots…oh, shit. Shots. He…ate Jell-O off of Percy’s abs.

 

            A distressed whine left Nico’s throat while his face threatened to burst into flames from embarrassment. Well, mostly embarrassment…if he wasn’t mistaken, Percy had also…did what he did to him. That was rather nice.

 

            Unbidden images exploded across his lids in bright flashes of color, creating a humiliating sporadic film of shame. Nico’s tongue gliding smoothly across the swathe of skin along the side of Percy’s belly button, Percy’s finger circling his nipple, Percy shoving his shirt into his back pocket, smearing paint into each other’s chests, dancing under pulsing lights. The film rolled on and on but Nico was trying not to throw up from mortification.

 

  
After that, everything was just about a blank. Nico looked down at himself and sighed in relief when he saw he had pants on. His shirt was nowhere to be seen, but at least he didn’t stumble back with no pants. On second thought…Nico reached back and tugged at the back pocket of his jeans, pulling his shirt out from where Percy had stuck it. “Well, there’s two things to be thankful for.”

 

            Sighing, he ran a hand through his tousled hair and then over his face, rubbing harshly against his cheek. He froze.

 

            With dawning horror, he pulled his hand slowly away from his face and stared at it. On the back of his hand was…a black tattoo of the fucking McDonalds arches with a fucking Happy Meal bag next to it. It wasn’t even a decent drawing; it was one of the most horrendous pieces of artwork he had ever seen.

 

            The nausea was definitely back, he was going to be sick. He scanned the room frantically until he spotted a half empty water bottle sitting on Grover’s desk. He scrambled off his bed and unscrewed the cap hastily, almost spilling all of it in an attempt to speed things up. He prayed to every deity he could think of that he didn’t just get a McDonalds tattoo last night because he was plastered.

 

            He spilled most of the water on the floor but some of it managed to  get on his hand and he rubbed the closest piece of cloth he could find-an old, ratty t-shirt that was most definitely not his, oops-and swiped it over the back of his hand, closing his eyes against the possible reality that he was going to have to live his whole life with this embarrassing lack of judgment, and even worse, have to tell Bianca how he managed to fuck up so bad so fast at college.

 

            Opening his eyes was one of the hardest things he had to do in his life so far, but somehow he forced himself to pry them open and stare down at his hand…and just about cry from relief at the black smudge marks that distorted the image on the back of his olive skinned hand. Okay, three things to be thankful for.

 

            He vaguely remembered how he got the ink…

 

             _Everyone was gathered at a table in the back of the club, half empty glasses of liquor littering the table and laughter filling in the spaces where the music couldn’t reach. Annabeth and Juniper were laughing at something Grover was saying, Hazel and Frank had their heads together, whispering about something, but they couldn’t whisper and still be heard over the music so they were more like yelling in each other’s faces, but that didn’t seem to put them off any._  


 

_Nico was practically sitting in Percy’s lap, but he was too drunk to care. The music was slightly quieter in the back, but still loud enough to be jarring if he was sober. Percy was running his hands up and down his bare arms, just a slight press of fingertips at the crease of his elbow and a scratch of nails on his wrist. The sensation was enough to make him shudder._

 

_He was telling him about how Bianca would take him to McDonalds when their dad wasn’t around for supper and she didn’t feel like cooking. It had become a sort of tradition with them, no matter where they moved to they would find the closest McDonalds and gorge themselves on cheap burgers and fries and wash it down with a suicide drink._

 

_Almost shyly, he admitted that he always got a Happy Meal when he went there, because he was trying to hold onto his sad excuse for a childhood. He was expecting him to laugh or pretend he didn’t say anything and change the subject, but instead his eyes went soft and he caressed the skin on the back of his hand, pulling it into his lap. He pulled a pen out, Nico didn’t know where he got it from but he wasn’t going to ask, and started to draw on his hand with sure strokes._

 

_When he was done, he held his hand almost reverently and kissed the drawing he put there. Nico blushed but smiled at him tentively. That face was so open and honest and absolutely beautiful. How is it even possible for someone to be that devastatingly beautiful?_

 

  
Nico shook his head and stared down at his hand, running his fingers over the drying ink. He couldn’t remember much about last night, but he hoped he didn’t do anything he’d come to regret. He had no idea what he was going to do about Percy Jackson. He had never wanted someone so bad before, never craved the attention and affection of another human being that wasn’t his family as much as he did the love of Percy Jackson. And that scared him.

 

            It scared him even more now that he had that dream, where he was so willing to drown if it meant making Percy smile. That wasn’t healthy, surely.

 

            He couldn’t let him get close; that would only end badly for him. Nico didn’t think he could deal with another heartbreak, and he was sure that Percy had the potential to break his heart faster and more wholly than Alex even did; that was a great feat to conquer, breaking Nico down further than his precarious lowest point, but he knew that Percy could make him hit rock bottom and then keep pushing until the heat at the center of the earth swallowed him whole.

 

            No. He couldn’t let that happened. Not again. Not ever again. Not with anyone. Especially not with Percy fucking Jackson, who already had his hands too close to Nico’s heart for comfort. He can control himself.

 

* * *

 

 

            Before leaving, Nico threw on a white t-shirt that was peeking from his bag on the floor and pulled on a thin striped hoodie. Since he was moving around with his eyes squinted, he decided it was best to throw on some sunglasses since it was going to be infinitely worse once he was outside.

 

            Even with the sunglasses on, it felt like the sun was trying to burn a hole through his face. Wincing, he stubbornly trained his eyes on the ground and tried to navigate campus by memory to avoid the full force of the sun. Unfortunately, it hadn’t even been a week since he moved in, so that left him to stumble headfirst into a flowery bush that just happened to be covered with thorns. Once again, if he had any luck at all, it was bad luck.

 

            He groaned around his mouthful of dirt and hoped that the thorns didn’t tear into hoodie. Then there was a panicked voice shrieking at him from the other side of the mini garden that he found himself resting in. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? You need to watch where you’re going, you almost…oh, hey, Nico.”

 

            Quickly, he raised himself up and brushed the dirt off of his knees, looking at the girl who apparently knew him guiltily.  “Sorry about that, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He paused and looked her over, taking in her gloved hands, dirt caked jeans, and green bandana. “Juniper, right?”

 

             She nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yeah, and I could tell you weren’t looking where you were going when you dived headfirst into my garden. Since it’s your first offense, you are forgiven. Just don’t do it again or I’ll have to fill your bed with soil.” She laughed daintily but he was still wary about whether she was joking or not.

 

            “So, Nico. Where are you going?”

 

            “Oh, right. Could you help me actually? Do you know where I could get some coffee around here? Or perhaps a bagel or something?”

 

            “Oh, yeah sure! Popina Olympus has the best bagels, but they don’t open for a little while yet. I’m surprised you’re up this early after last night!”

 

            Nico squinted at her and reached in his back pocket for his phone, but it wasn’t there. Hopefully it was hiding in his sheets back at the dorm; he really didn’t feel like buying a new one if he lost it at the club. “I don’t know what time it is, actually. How early is it?”

 

            She looked down at her watch and brushed some dirt off of it. “It’s a quarter ‘till eight.”

 

            He stared at her in disbelief and groaned. No wonder he felt so shitty, he barely got any sleep. She laughed at the bewildered look on his face and pulled her gloves off. “Yeah, sorry about that. The only reason I’m up is because I never drink as much as anyone else, I just don’t see the appeal in it. Anyway, the nearest place that’s open now is just around the corner of this building. It’s a little coffee stand called Romulus and it’s great for when you’re on the go or in a rush.”

 

            “Okay, thanks. Uh, can you tell me where the library is, as well? I’m still a little directionally challenged.”

 

            “From the hut, just walk two blocks down the street and it’s on your right. It’s hard to miss. Oh, and ask for Calypso, she works there. I’m sure she is already there and she can help you out.”

 

            He nodded his head in acquiescence and then gave her a small smile. “Well, uh, thanks. I’ll see you later, I guess.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before he was already moving away, the promise of coffee too strong to resist. 

 

            The hut was small and more like a movable food truck than a restaurant, but there was only one other person standing in line and the smell wafting from inside made his mouth water. He ordered a small black coffee- _yes, I’m sure. No sugar._ -and a cream cheese bagel- _okay, fine, strawberry cream cheese is fine, but just because my coffee is sugarless doesn’t mean I need to make up for it in other aspects_ -and then was forced to buy a blueberry muffin to satiate the girl that was telling how he looked like he needed a pick-me-up.

 

            He shoved the muffin in his mouth and devoured the bagel in between long gulps of scalding hot coffee. By the time he was done, he was completely awake and standing in front of the library doors. Throwing away his cup, he pushed through the heavy oak and froze in spot.

 

            It was beautiful. Wonderful. Spectacular. Awe-inspiring. He had never seen a library so grand. There were book shelves lining the walls and forming rows all the way to back of the building. Looking up, he could see there were at least three more stories that were connected by winding staircases with bronze support beams and a ceiling that had a huge mural depicting various scenes from Greek and Roman Mythology.

 

            The library desks were old wood and had low-light lamps and plush back chairs. Books, parchment and laptops flooded their surfaces. A few students occupied them but they were mostly empty. Marble columns were intricately carved with swirling designs of heroic victories and battles that were stretched around their bases.

 

            There weren’t any signs that differentiated the sections of books, so he had no idea how he was going to navigate its complex corridors. But then again if there were signs, it would only detract from its beauty, so Nico only gave a small smile and inhaled the crisp smell of sun kissed paper and dust and made his way down the nearest tunnel of books.

 

            The books towered several feet above his head, but from what he could see there was books on Chinese history next to books on anatomy; books on plant care next to books on veterinary practices; books on architecture next to books on lacrosse. Nico’s brows furrowed in confusion as he glared at the unorganized mess. How was anyone supposed to decipher this nonsense?   

 

            Next to him someone cleared their throat and tapped him on the shoulder. There was a girl standing there with her arms full of books and glasses dipping down her nose. She had long chestnut hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail and was wearing a white dress that looked like it was flowing by her legs. In short, she was beautiful. Not that it did anything for Nico, but he could still appreciate her beauty objectively.

 

            She twitched her face to the side in order to get her glasses back up her nose but it just made them slump down lower. She gave a huff and shoved the books in Nico’s chest with a huffed “here” to push them back into place and then climb onto a ladder and grab the first book on the pile and place it next to a book on fencing techniques. “Uh…” He tried to vocalize his thoughts but it was difficult considering he didn’t know what the hell was going on.

 

            She didn’t seem to mind his discomfort. Nope, she just continued to grab at the books he was now holding until he could see over them again and put them in their place on the shelf, whatever ‘their’ place happened to be. He still didn’t see a pattern.

 

            When Nico’s hands were once again empty and she was satisfied with her work, she came down the ladder and brushed her hands off against each other. “Well, Nico right? You look a little confused; can I help you find something?”

 

            “Uh…” he stuttered, “do I know you?”

 

            She smiled wryly and started walking further down the corridor, leaving Nico with no choice but to follow after her. “You know some of my friends. You are Hazel’s brother, correct? Leo, the short one that is always fiddling with something, is my boyfriend. I believe you went out with them last night.”

 

           Nico caught up to her and easily matched her pace. “I take it you’re Calypso, then?” at her nod, he continued. “Cool, Juniper said that I should find you. She said you’d be able to help me.”

 

            They turned a corner and swept down another path that cut sharply to the right. He had no idea where she was going, but he had no choice but to follow her. He didn’t think he would be able to make his way back out without her help. This place is like a labyrinth.

 

            “Juni’s right. I can help you find anything in the library. What do you need?”

 

            “Um. Textbooks?”

 

            She stared at him. Almost a full minute had passed before he realized she was waiting for him to elaborate. “Oh. Uh, for class?”

 

            The look she was giving him softened a little, but not in a nice way. It was less of an endearing gaze and more of a look-at-this-poor-idiot glare. “Okay. What  _kind_  of textbooks for class?”

 

            Nico flushed furiously in embarrassment but managed to rattle of his classes. “I have Comp I, Econ., Classical Greek, and Algebra.”

 

            Calypso nodded and set off in the opposite direction with determination etched into her features. She took him to various places in the library’s first floor, explaining things to him the whole time.

 

              “For Comp I, you will need the basic Comp book, it has Comp I and II in it, but you will only use the first half of it, and also this book”-she handed him a small book that maybe had a little over one hundred pages in it-“it has all of the basics on grammar, structure, tenses, and the lot.”

 

           They ventured off to another section of the library where the only sound was the buzzing of the light fixtures. “For Econ. you will need the basic book of Economics, this statistical book on real estate and GDP fluctuation, and-” She looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you have the Doctor?” He nodded. “Then you will also need this book on the basics of time and space dimension.”

 

            When she noticed that he was looking at her like she was crazy, she laughed and tried to explain. “He goes off course a lot and ends up talking about space and time travel and all the possible futures and relationships between dimensions. Trust me; you’re going to want this.”

 

            They moved on to another section where she gave him a huge copy of the College Algebra textbook and a smaller one on trig and pre-cal. Apparently his teacher wasn’t best known for his patience and expected a lot of his students. Those expectations included moving on from algebra quite quickly and broaching concepts of trigonometry and calculus and statistical improbabilities. For a guy with dyslexia and ADHD, that did not sound appealing whatsoever.

 

            Finally they were standing in front of a section that actually made organized sense. The shelves were dedicated solely to mythology; Greek, Roman, Norse, Tribal, Folk, you name it. Nico thought he was in love.

 

            Calypso picked up three books; one that covered Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology sparsely, one that focused on the gods, goddesses, and heroes in Greek myth, and another that focused on the culture of Greece. “These will be the main texts you will need. Feel free to grab whatever else you would like; there is no limit on the number of books you can check out. The further up you go the less quiet you have to be and the more leisure books you will find. There are also computers you can check out for use, just remember to sign them out and return them at the correct time.”

 

            Nico was looking at her a little uncertainly, so she sighed and shook her head. “Go ahead. I know you want to ask.”

 

            “How am I supposed to find anything by myself? I really do not understand your organization technique. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but…”

 

            She pulled him over until they were a few sections away from the mythology corridor. She pointed at three books next to each other. “The books are not organized by last name or genre, but rather by subject matter.”

 

           Nico eyed the three books she was pointing to skeptically. “Uh huh. And how are Christmas tree decorations, pagan religion rituals, and the modernization of agriculture connected?”

 

            She sighed in exasperation and pulled all three books from their place on the shelf. Holding up the Christmas book, she spoke. “Christmas wasn’t always a Christian tradition, the use of the Christmas tree and all that actually came from a pagan culture. Christianity just turned it into a big religious holiday later, but that was not how it started. That leads us to pagan rituals that were popular and practiced. Pagan is a term widely associated with non-Christianity, but also primitive people that devoted themselves to the land and deities long before Christianity developed.  So, like nomads tend to do, their lifestyle was largely based on an agricultural acquisition, which leads us to the advancement of agriculture that leads up to industrialization.”

 

            When she was done, she put the books back on the shelf, and what do you know, the next book after the one on agriculture was about the hardship of factory life. Honestly, it made his head hurt a little, but it was still amazing her mind worked in that way. “I would have never thought of it like that, but that’s pretty amazing. But I still don’t think knowing that will help me navigate the passages to find books on my own.”

 

            She sighed like she had done all of this before and led him over to a kiosk. “These are stationed all over the place. You are not the only one who sees my organization as scattered. So, because they couldn’t find anyone else who had the dedication to run this place, and because I have an uncle that works here, they decided to try to work with what they had instead of having me reorganize the entire library. These will tell you anything you want to know. Enter a name of a book or author, genre, keyword, description, whatever, and it will pull up all sorts of books for you, tell you about them, and show you exactly where to go to find it.”

 

            “That’s pretty cool.” He really didn’t know what to say other than that. She was kind of overwhelming.

 

            “Yeah, it is. Annabeth designed them.”

 

          Of course she did. It seems like Nico was finding no ends to the greatness of Annabeth…Grape? Case? Lace? Something like that anyway.

 

            Nico just gave a tight smile and hefted the books higher. She didn’t really mind him not answering though, she already had some sort of keypad device of some sort out and was walking away muttering in…was that Greek?

 

            “Well, I’m sure I will be seeing you around, Nico. See you later.”

 

            She was gone with a swirl of her dress and the clack of her heels. Calypso was beautiful, smart, complex and honestly a little terrifying in an overwhelmingly cool way. She was the type of girl that everyone could find something to love about her, and if he liked women that way, he was pretty sure that she would be his type. She was anyone’s type really. He wondered why she was with Leo when she could probably have anyone she likes, but then he felt bad about putting Leo down like that when he barely even knew him.

 

* * *

  

 

            He decided to check the library fully out later, but he really needed to talk to one of the counselors on campus. He walked around for almost ten minutes before he found his way out of the maze of bookcases, but when he finally did, he found the desk to get a ‘loan’ on the books and then dropped them off at his dorm. Grover still wasn’t there but he wasn’t too worried about it.

 

            He was escorted into a waiting room when he walked into one of the office buildings and asked to talk to someone about a job on campus. Only five minutes had passed when he was shown into an office. It was homey and full of rich colors that reminded him of the earth and sunsets and it smelled like incense. There was a chocolate skinned woman with a kind face that was cutting a cake at her desk. That was a little strange, but…he was sensing that there was a pattern of strange at this school, but he liked it that way.

 

            He knocked on the inside of her door but she just smiled like she already knew he was there and gestured to one of the armchairs with her knife. “Take a seat honey, would you like a piece of cake? I just made it this morning before coming in.”

 

            A little unsurely he sat down and took the plate she was offering him with a small thanks of appreciation. She cut a piece off for herself as well and then moved around to sit in her seat on the other side of the desk. “Call me Missouri. What’s your name, boy?”

 

            Nico decided that he really liked her. I mean, the lady gave him cake, it was almost as potent as signing a contract in blood for him. When you share your food with Nico Di Angelo, he gives you his allegiance for life unless you break his trust. Food is sacred to him; it was probably something to do with his Italian heritage since he didn’t eat that much himself. But when he did eat, he only ever ate good food or the food he happened to be craving; he never settled.

 

            “Nico, ma’am. Nico Di Angelo.”

 

            “Don’t give me that ma’am stuff; it’s just Missouri, okay, honey?”

 

            “Yes, Missouri.” He smiled a little guiltily and took a bite of his cake, moaning a little in appreciation. “This is delicious. What is it?”

 

            “Thank you, Nico. It’s a family recipe. I’m sure you know all about those, though.”

 

            Nico sputtered a little. “Excuse me?”

 

            She just laughed at him and ate some of her cake. “I know you’re sister, Hazel. She’s told me about you and your other sister, Bianca, is it?” He nodded and she smiled at him kindly. “I thought so. She told me how your mother was Italian, and how you were always in the kitchen with her.”

 

            His smile turned wistful now, remembering his mother in a long floral dress dancing in the kitchen and laughing with him. “Yes, she loved to cook. Bianca likes it too, but I was the one to really get into it.”

 

            Missouri smiled and shook her head like it was something he had shared with her a thousand times before. “Maybe we could trade recipes sometime, then.” She winked at him and took his now empty plate and put it on the counter next to the cake. “Now how about you tell me what I can do for you today, young man.”

 

            Now that his hands were free, he started fiddling with the ring on his finger, the skull glinting. It was one of the few tokens he had that showed that his father actually cared despite his indifferent and distant attitude.

 

            “I was hoping you could point me in the right direction for a job? On campus, preferably.”

 

            She took out some paperwork and started writing in the packet. “If you like cooking, son, you should go ask at Popina Olympus. It’s a little Bistro right by the library here on campus, and I know they are always in the need of help. Two siblings run the place, but you will want to talk to Thalia.”

 

            She handed him the paperwork she was filling in and saw it was a short reference for him from her. “Oh, thank you, Missouri. I really appreciate it.”

 

            She stood up and walked him to the door, surprising him by pulling him into a short hug. He wasn’t one for too much physical contact, but something about Missouri reminded him of his grandmamma in Venice, so he allowed it. “No problem, honey. You just make sure to come back so we can trade recipes, you hear? Or if you ever need to talk, that’s what they pay me for.”  
            Nico laughed and thanked her once more before heading back over toward the library. One thing was for sure, he was definitely going to get his fill of exercise living here.

 

* * *

  

 

            Popina Olympus was bigger than the café he had breakfast at but it was still very cozy. No, it was homey. It smelled like coffee and roast beef and had silver tables and chairs and plush looking couches. There were plenty of kids-he really needed to stop calling them kids, most of them were probably older than him, and he was eighteen-milling about; laughing and drinking coffee with friends, tapping away at laptops, there was even a jukebox that was playing. Nico loved it right away.

 

            He went over to the counter where there was a blond guy reading a magazine with his ear buds in. He drummed his hands on the counter to get his attention and smiled when he jerked in surprise and yanked the buds out of his ears. “Jason, right?”

 

            “Yes! Hey, Percy’s friend, right?”

 

            Nico blushed at that and tried not to fidget. “Uh, I guess. I just met him really. I’m Hazel’s brother though.”

 

            He seemed nonplussed by what he said and he just kept talking. “What can I do for you? Would you like some coffee? We have all sorts. I make great macchiato’s that have cinnamon in them. Or would you like some food? It’s still breakfast, so we’ve got bagels, which I totally recommend, some awesome breakfast burritos, and all kinds of sandwiches. We have a full kitchen though, so I could fry you up some eggs, toast, pancakes, you name it and we can probably make it for you. Or you can-”

 

            Nico interrupted him with a hand being waved in his face. “Hey, Jason. Thanks a lot, man, but I already had breakfast. Maybe some other time. I’m actually here to see someone named Thalia. Do you know where I can find her?”

 

            “Yeah, man! She’s my sister. She’s in the back but I can take you to see her, we’re not too busy right now.”

 

            He followed Jason to the back of the restaurant where there was a girl with spiky black hair that had striking blue streaks in it writing on a huge whiteboard on a wall. She had on dark jeans that had chains on them and big black commando boots, a tight black Paramore t-shirt and studded bracelets that clinked while she wrote.

 

            When she heard them approach, she glanced over her shoulder to throw a friendly glance at him and glare at Jason. They both had the brightest blue eyes.

 

            “Grace! I thought you said you ordered in the breakfast stuff we needed for the week. They called and said that they hadn’t heard from you, so now I’m stuck running around with my head cut off trying to make a list of everything we need so I can call in the order by noon so it can still get here on time.”

 

            Jason rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest. That action caused her to narrow her eyes dangerously but Nico could still see amusement lurking behind the clear pools of her heavily lined eyes. Nico decided he like her.

 

            “Thals, I told you I ordered in the lunch specials. I said, and I quote, ‘the lunch specials are ordered, but I didn’t have time to gather a list for breakfast. Would you mind doing it for me?’And you said, and I quote again, ‘are you out of your damn mind? I’m busy punk’ and then you sent me a text ten minutes later that you had Reyna on it.”

 

          Thalia seemed to contemplate that before shrugging and turning back to the whiteboard. “You’re still a punk.”

 

            Nico coughed out a laugh and Jason fake glared at him. Thalia was smiling at him though, so he supposed that was the right impression to make when he was about to ask for a job. “Who’s your friend, Jay?”

 

            He stepped in before he could say anything and held out his hand. “Nico Di Angelo.” She shook it and snatched the paper from his other hand. “How do you know that’s for you?”

 

            She smirked at him and continued to read his reference. “Because Jason brought you here to the back, so you must be a potential employee.” Nico mirrored her smirk and looked sidelong at Jason. “I actually only told him that I was here to see you, not that I was here looking for a job.”

 

            At that, Thalia slammed his reference down on the nearest tabletop and tensed her body to run attack her brother, but before she could do anything he was running in the opposite direction toward the front of the store, screaming ‘na na na na boo boo, Thals!’ He was not expecting that.

 

            She sighed good naturedly and patted him roughly on the back. “You’re hired, kid. You start noon tomorrow. You’ll get your schedule then too.”

 

            Nico thanked her and was on his way out of the bistro when Jason called his name. He turned around and saw him behind the counter again, so he walked over out of curiosity. “So, she give you the job?”

 

            He lowered his head once in answer and was turning around when he heard him calling out again. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nico. Wait up.”

 

            He waited until he was looking at him again before speaking. Grudgingly, he forced his eyes up and cringed with the mirth he saw there. “You’ll do great. But…” He paused for dramatic effect…

 

            …then it became a pause for an annoying effect when he didn’t continue after almost a full minute. Nico glanced around to see if anyone else was noticing this happening but it apparently was just him. He cleared his throat. “But?”

 

          “But! To prove yourself worthy, you must come cook for us tonight. To see if you can actually cook, you see.”

 

            Nico stared at him and waited for the punch line.

 

            The punch line never came. He wondered if this never finishing a thought thing was going to become a habit.

 

            “You are kidding, right?”

 

            The infuriating guy just laughed and shook his head viciously. “Nope! Hazing isn’t allowed on campus, but this is my right as co-manager of Popina Olympus to test your skills before hiring you.”

 

            Nico still thought this had to be a joke, but he could see the sincerity in the creases of his eyes. It looks like he was going to have to find a job elsewhere after all.

 

            But then Jason kept talking. “Tell you what; it will just be people you have already met. Nothing big or anything. It’ll just be me, Piper, Leo, Calypso, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy, Juniper and Grover. Thalia won’t be there because she’ll probably be glued to the hip of her girlfriend Reyna at the gym like always, so you won’t have to worry about impressing the ‘big boss’. Come to mine and Percy’s dorm tonight at 10:30 pm, Grover will show you the way. We’ll all head over the Lambs Club. It’s this restaurant that Juniper works at. She can get us in to use the kitchen after hours. What do you say?”

 

            He was going to say no. But then he mentioned Percy, so he most definitely was going to say no. He managed not to think about Percy all damn day and he was not going to ruin his record.

 

            “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

 

            Shit. Are you kidding me? This whole thing with his brain and body and heart not being in accordance is really going to start to get annoying.

 

            Jason beamed a hundred watt smile and said that he would see him tonight, and to dress nice.

 

            What was he getting himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A suicide drink is when you mix all the soda available in one cup. You have to try it at least once if you haven’t. It’s a requirement to live on this earth.  
> Unfortunately, you have to buy all of your college textbooks and most of them are ridiculously expensive. So in retaliation, I made SOCU provide all the basic texts for their students.  
> Popina Olympia = Bistro Olympus in Latin  
> Most of my inspiration for Popina Olympus was from The Prince & Me, the restaurant Julia Styles worked at, not going to lie. 
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr! [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	6. Saturday, August 23rd continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Independence Day to all my American readers! I thought I would update since it is a holiday!

“So where is the Lamb’s Club?”

 

            It was a few minutes before 10:30 and they were walking over to Jason and Percy’s dorm, bundled up against the cold. Nico had heeded Jason’s warning and dressed nicely. The place was called The Lambs Club for heaven’s sake, even the name sounded ridiculously posh.

 

            So he was wearing some of his nicer dark wash jeans, still tight but hey, he was only going to dress up so much, and he will be cooking after all, some leather shoes he has only wore maybe three times before, and a black button up shirt. He even ironed out the wrinkles. He was still wearing his aviator jacket and he had an AC/DC t-shirt on underneath it, but how fancy was he supposed to get?

 

            Grover was walking next to him, trussed up in a green button down and brown vest and slacks, apparently upon his girlfriend’s request. “It’s in the city, less than 30 minutes away.”

 

            They walk on in silence, but the silence never bothered Nico anyway. It was a nice night with a clear sky and just a light breeze. It was the kind of night where Nico would usually be up on the nearest rooftop with a bottle of wine stargazing. But here he was, getting ready to fix a very late dinner for people that he barely knew, and even looking forward to it. He hadn’t had the chance to really dabble in the kitchen for a while, and if this restaurant is as posh as it sounds, then they should have plenty of ingredients for him to work with.

 

            It didn’t hurt that Percy was going to be eating food that he made. He didn’t know whether that thought made him more nervous or excited. He felt like puking and dancing a jig while doing it, so it could go either way. Besides, he isn’t supposed to be looking at Percy that way anymore, so it shouldn’t matter if he likes his cooking or not. Except that is does.

 

            They were standing in front of the door that was supposedly Jason’s and Percy’s, and Nico was waiting for Grover to knock. When he realized that he wasn’t planning on knocking anytime soon-he was apparently mesmerized by the zipper on his jacket for some reason-he sighed and raised his hand to rap on the door three times.

 

            Jason opened the door with a wide smile and welcomed them in. Everyone wasn’t crowded in there waiting like he thought they would be. It was just Jason and…Percy. Uh, Percy…

 

            Percy was lying on his stomach on what he assumed was his bed, face pushed down into his blue-cased pillow and groaning. Oh, and he was shirtless. You know, just a minor little fact. Inconsequential really. No big deal.

 

            Except that it was, because this was the first time that Nico had seen him shirtless sober. And what a sight it was. He had a tattoo of a cross that stretched from his right side around to his stomach where it disappeared from his sight. It was outlined in black with twisting vines and wilting flowers, making it looked decayed and hauntingly beautiful. He could see the trident on his forearm and another tattoo that looked like it was on his other hip and disappearing into his jeans.

 

            So much for not thinking about Percy anyway except friendly politeness.

 

            Jason and Grover didn’t notice him frozen by the door, they just walked fully in the room, Grover picking up an apple from the desk and chewing on it loudly, and Jason striding over to Percy and whipping him with a towel. It was almost comical the way Percy yelped and arched his neck around to glare at Jason. When Jason just laughed and told him to get dressed, the world class glare did a three-sixty into a full blown world class pout.

 

            He flumped back onto the bed with a groan and set his chin on his arms. When he spotted Nico, his eyes brightened and his lips started to turn up before he remembered that he was supposed to be sulking. His eyes brimmed with crocodile tears and his bottom lip was quivering slightly. Nico almost expected his sad puppy dog look to come with a side of oh-please-take-pity-on-me whimpering.

 

            Percy blinked at Nico slowly-and dammit, he knew how cute he looked-and gave a pitiful sigh before speaking in the most timid voice he was capable of. “Nico? Oh, Nico, please don’t let the bad man make me go. I don’t want to put clothes on.”

 

            Nico was sure his imagination was making up the seductive way he said that last part. Before he took advantage of this succulent specimen in front of two very unsuspecting witnesses-seriously, they were looking at some papers on the desk and talking animatedly about goat populations in the mountains-he took a deep breath and shook his head at him in fake sympathy.

 

            Nico has a “little brother” back in L.A. that he has taken care of for three years now. He was turning seven in December. This means that he had plenty of experience working with young children who liked to pout and throw fits and cry to get their way. Manipulation was not new to Nico and he knew the best way to get the evening going was to be as straight forward as possible.

 

            “Poor baby. I guess you don’t want to eat the free food I’m making you. Pity. I guess I can go back to my dorm for the night.” With that he turned on his heel and shoved his hands deep into his pocket, whistling a jolly tune and walking at a steady pace to the stairs that lead to the lobby.

 

            He was half-way down the staircase when the door burst open and Percy came barreling down the stairs after him. He had on fit dark slacks and had one arm in the motorcycle jacket he was currently struggling to put on over his light grey Henley and blue vest. Nico wanted to make fun of him for wearing Sperry’s, but the way he was hopping up and down while unsuccessfully attempting to pull on his jacket and tug his right shoe over his ankle at the same time was making it difficult to form words in fear of blurting out how utterly adorable that picture was.

 

            By the time Percy had all of his clothes in order, they had made it to the lobby. Nico paused before reaching the doors, mostly because he wasn’t sure where he was going, and turned to see Percy smiling at him with an unreadable glint in his eyes. “Do you work with children?”

 

            Nico was taken aback by the question; that was not what he was expecting him to say. He blinked at him owlishly and nodded slightly.

 

            Percy nodded his head as well and looked out the doors. “I thought so. You used the same technique I do when I’m trying to get my sister to leave with me.” Nico laughed and looked at him from underneath his bangs. “You mean saying you’re going to leave without them and then walking away? Yeah, it works every time.” Percy laughed at him boisterously in agreement and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

 

            They were standing near the exit but Percy wasn’t making his way outside; he wasn’t leading them toward the couches over in the far corner either, so Nico just tucked his hands into his pockets and tried not to slouch. After a few hours that went by in reality for about 30 seconds, Nico couldn’t resist interrupting the silence. “So, you have a little sister?”

 

            He smiled at him softly. “Yeah. My little princess.” Nico rolled his eyes at that, but he secretly thought that was sweet. “What’s she like?”

 

            He took a step closer to the green-eyed boy and was delighted when he leaned in slightly towards him. “Her name’s Narissa. She’s two years old and too cute. Both me and my mom have dark hair, but she is as blond as blond can be with the biggest brown eyes. Sweet thing loves cuddling and laughing but when she’s mad, it’s like the tide being turned; she yells and screams and pouts and throws things, and let me tell you, she is very strong for a two year old girl.”

 

            Nico laughed and was about to tell him about his “little brother” when the elevators pinged open and Grover and Jason stepped out. They met them at the door and they all walked back together, Nico trying to hide the tiny frown he was wearing at being interrupted during his Percy time, which was ridiculous because he doesn’t have any right to ‘Percy time’ in the first place. The thought struck him funny and he snorted out a laugh. Percy turned toward him and raised an eyebrow but Nico just gave him a small smile and shook his head.

 

            The rest of their group was waiting in the parking lot; Leo and Frank sitting in Hazel’s car with its owner leaning against the door, Piper parked beside her and waving from behind the glass to Jason, and Annabeth sitting cross legged on the hood of Percy’s car. Jason punched his shoulder lightly before slapping Percy upside the head playfully and getting into Piper’s BMW and driving off.

 

            Annabeth slid off the Charger and sat in the passenger seat, tapping away on an Ipad and yelling at Grover to get in the car, she was starving. Nico was already shoving his was in the passenger seat of Hazel’s coup when Percy turned to look at him hopefully. When he saw that he was seated with his seat belt hooked up and ready to go his face fell for a second before his mouth twisted back into a familiar smirk. “Race you guys there!”

 

* * *

  

 

            Half an hour later, they pulled up to an expensive looking brick building surrounded by fenced-in trees and hedges towering over their heads. It had enormous oak doors with twisting metal handles in the shape of flowers. It looked like a black tie affair and Nico was starting to feel a little underdressed. None of the other guys were wearing ties, and Leo was even wearing jeans-nice jeans, sure, but jeans nonetheless.

 

            It was a little after eleven when Juniper opened the front doors-the monstrous wood barriers were at least twice her size, he couldn’t believe she could open them by herself-and met them at the front. She was wearing black flats and a slim-fitting black dress that suited the formal atmosphere of her job.

 

            “Come on guys! Chef’s just cleaning up; he wants to meet Nico before he leaves.”

 

            They all paraded inside, and despite Nico’s nervousness, he courageously plowed his way in first to follow Juniper back to the kitchen area. Maybe it wasn’t so courageous since he was only doing it to avoid being stuck in the back where Annabeth was pulling on Percy’s hand like a lifeline, but no one had to know that.

 

            The place was elegant and inexplicably comfy at the same time, with red couches pushed up to white linen-clad tables and wine glasses sitting next to fancily-folded napkins. The boys, excluding Nico, pushed the tables together until they created a rectangle long enough to fit all ten of their group and left the couches for the matching wood chairs with soft red leather seats instead. The boys then helped the lady’s into their respective seats; the silly gentlemanly bow that Percy gives Annabeth makes Nico irrationally jealous and warm at the same time.

 

             The kitchen is in the back of the unsurprisingly capacious restaurant with an open front where the guests can view the chef at work from their seats. When he walked in there was a man wiping down an already spotless cabinet with vigor. He was round and short, a compact man of about fifty with a red face and kind eyes hidden behind thick brows that bushed out almost comically. His thinning hair had turned grey and there was a pleasant aroma of a variety of spices and herbs that drifted off of his chef’s coat in timid waves. He reminded Nico of his grandfather on his mother’s side, liking him instantly.

 

            Juniper cleared her throat to get the older man’s attention. “Chef Dufour, this is Nico Di Angelo, our junior chef this evening.”

 

            The man turned to greet them with a wide smile that seemed to radiate from his very core. “Monsieur Di Angelo! My young friend, you look like you know your way around the kitchen, oui? Di Angelo, Italien? Espagnol?”

 

            Nico wasn’t even fazed with the French accent; the man practically exuded French pheromones from his moustache and the overwhelmingly pungent smell of Thyme he emitted. Admittedly he was only eighty-five percent sure he was French before he spoke, but he was a solid one hundred and five percent after he called him Monsieur.

 

            “Italiano. On my mother’s side. She taught me the art of navigating a kitchen at a young age, I have been fond of it ever since.”

 

            The man gave him a reassuring smile and rubbed his hands on the front of his jacket. “I can always tell when someone has the potential to be the master of a great kitchen, and you mon jeune ami, have an air of authority.” He turned in a circle and stuffed the towel he had been cleaning with in his oversized pocket. “Well, I trust you completely with my kitchen; any friend of Juni’s in a friend of mine, just make sure you clean it up as nice as I am giving it to you, oui? I am sure you have a natural feel for the kitchen, so I will let you explore at your leisure instead of me giving you the rundown.”

 

            He squeezed Juniper’s shoulder amicably and clasped Nico’s hand in a firm handshake before whistling out the kitchen. “Feel free to use whatever you may need, mon garcon, you are welcome to it.”

 

            Nico did not have a lot of time to answer as he was already rushing out like a man eternally running behind, so all he managed was a weak “thank you” before the man was gone. Juniper had a fond smile on her face and was pulling out several sheets of laminated paper from a cabinet. “He is the Chef here at Lamb’s Club?”

 

            She nodded enthusiastically and spread her founding over the counter. “Yes, Jacques has known my family for over twenty years. They met in Reims, northeast of Paris, where he was running a small restaurant that they visited on their honeymoon. They stayed in France for a year, a lot longer than expected, but they became good friends with Jacques, and when they decided to open the Lamb’s Club, they asked him if he was interested in becoming a part of it.”

 

            Nico listened intently and glanced over the sheets she set out. “He seems like a good man. What are these?”

 

            “These are lists of every herb, spice, ingredient, meat, vegetable, fruit, bread and drink that we have available for your use. We have an extensive array of options, but should you need something that is not here, I’m sure you could find something to substitute for it.”

 

            The list was huge and slightly intimidating but Nico was thankful that he had a lot to work with instead of too little. “Thank you, this is more than enough.”

 

            “I’m going to go join the others, I’ve been working all day and I’m frankly tired. You’ll be okay in here, able to find everything you’ll need?”

 

            Nico waved her off and smiled at the gleaming silver surfaces reflecting back at him invitingly. He hadn’t had the opportunity to cook in a kitchen so large or with so many resources before and he was genuinely excited to get started, all of his initial nervousness gone.

 

            He took inventory first, skimming over the papers and pulling out ingredients from various cabinets, grabbing equipment and utensils from drawers, and taking stock of the meat already thawed out in one of the refrigerators. When he had a myriad of tools to work with scattered on the countertops, he put the laminated papers back in their place and took an apron off a silver hook by the entrance. It was black and plain cotton, fitting comfortably with red-laced letters that spelled The Lambs Club in curling strokes. 

 

            Smoothing down the invisible creases in the apron he gazed out at the tableful of hungry college kids he was supposed to please with his cooking and suddenly he was nervous. He just got here, what if they don’t like his cooking? What if they hate it and he doesn’t get the job? What if Percy doesn’t like it? Oh God, what if he kills someone because he forgot to ask about allergies?

 

            With that harrowing thought, he raced out to meet the group and stood to the side waiting to be acknowledged, unwilling to let his presence be known before they noticed him. Annabeth saw him standing there awkwardly wringing his hands and called out to him. Hesitantly he inched forward until he was standing in between Grover and Jason, facing Percy and Annabeth, both wearing creepily identical smirks.

 

            “So,” he cleared his throat when it squeaked in that decidedly manly way it does when he’s nervous, “um, any allergies I should know about? Anybody a vegetarian?”

 

            Grover raised his hand and looked at him expectantly. Nico looked around a little confused before saying “uh, yeah? Grover.”

 

            “Me and Juniper are both vegetarians, but not vegans, so we can eat dairy and eggs, just no meat.” Juniper hit him in the shoulder with her delicate hand and turned to Nico with an apologetic smile gracing her face. “If it’s not too much trouble that is, Nico. We’d hate to throw off your plans, so we can just eat the parts without meat in them. You don’t have to go out of your way.”

 

            Honestly, Nico wasn’t planning on making anything a vegetarian couldn’t comfortably eat, but it was just a coincidence. At least now he can play it off as someone else’s idea in case someone was really pulling for some meat. “Anybody gonna miss a little meat?”

 

            Everyone at the table shook their heads and Nico took that as consent to head back to the kitchen and get to work.

 

* * *

  

 

            He was just taking the croutons out of the oven when there was a knock on the counter by his head. Percy was leaning with his hip propped on the cabinets and smiling down at me mischievously. Nico put the croutons in the refrigerator to cool them down, pulled the embroidered oven mitts off, and raised an eyebrow at him pensively.

 

            “You looking for something?”

 

            Percy pushed off the counter and sauntered across the space separating them until it was nothing more than obsolete static. “You, for all my life, Angel.” He had the audacity to wink at him with the air of someone who winked frequently and all with variant degrees of positive responses in turn. The nerve of the boy, the absolute arrogance, the unconceivable vexation it spurned onto his brow. It made his heart go aflutter.

 

            He looked over Percy’s shoulder at their friends but they weren’t paying attention to the kitchen and were too far away to hear anything. A scoff and a shake of imperceptible affection was in Nico’s doe eyed smirk. “Alright, flatterer, how about you go find some snakes to charm or make yourself useful and help me toss the salad.”

 

            Percy eyed the three big glass bowls filled with green heaven sat like ducklings side by side next to a large bottle of vinaigrette, their etched roses and twisting vines twining eloquently in the clear crystal like sea glass by the bay, waiting and ready for someone to pick them up and take them away. Sending Nico a confident grin he snatched and tossed a cheese grinder in the air, almost dropping it and sending metallic bowls clanging to the floor obnoxiously trying to save it. Nico closed the fridge door and sat the croutons on the counter, shaking his head at the boy staring sorrowfully at the bowls scattered on the floor. “What am I going to do with you?”

 

* * *

  

 

            The whole table halted their aimless talking at the sound of something crashing arose from the kitchen. They glanced at each other with similar looks gleaming in their stares. Annabeth was the first one to speak, her words gliding smoothly across the long stretch of a makeshift dining table. “Looks like Percy is being his usual helpful self.”

 

            The air filled with humorous lilts and guffaws and then returned to their idle chatter.

 

            Grover was chewing on the edge of his napkin contemplatively and Juniper was trying to pry it away from his determined jaws. Jason, Piper, and Leo were having a conversation about their new classes this year. Frank was rubbing Hazel’s shoulders while she complained about a stubborn young colt she was to train at her job down at the racing stables. Annabeth’s mouth twisted with amusement as she watched her friends.

 

            Hazel leaned in close and spoke in a low voice, not wanting to draw attention to herself. “So. Percy, how is he?”

 

            Annabeth quirked her brow and smirked over her glass of water, speaking softly into its cool contents. “A love struck fool.”

 

            There was another clatter resounding from the kitchen and both girls turned towards it interestingly, sharing a look of a cross between familiar fondness and exasperated patience. Hazel took up her own glass of water and sipped at it delicately. “Oh? He’s quite enamored then?”

 

            A nod of her head confirmed this and the coffee skinned girl darted her eyes minutely in the direction of the kitchen before settling them back to gaze into the other girl’s cool grey pools. “Well, you know I love Percy. He’s my friend and I trust him with my life, but I don’t know if I trust him with my little brother’s heart.” She held up her hand to halt Annabeth before she could speak the protest that was hanging upon her lips. “I don’t want to hear it, and don’t give me that look, Annabeth. You know how Percy is. You and Percy have this relationship that no one quite understands, and then you both see other people, quite frequently, and he isn’t exactly known for his discretion and purity.”

 

            Another crash came from the kitchen, this time followed by a sharp “sorry!”, but Annabeth barely spared it a glance. “Well, I’m not saying that’s not true. But, Hazel, what exactly do you mean?”

 

            “I mean that while Percy is a great guy, and an amazing friend, he frankly sleeps around a lot and doesn’t usually stick around for long. Nico deserves someone who can make him happy and secure, not a quick fling that’s going to break his heart. He’s had enough of that already.”

 

            Hazel sighed and scooted a little closer, looking over her shoulder to see Frank busy in a discussion with Leo about mechanical dinosaurs or something like that. “He had a friend, someone he really looked up to and admired, and then he fell in love with him. Well, he says he didn’t now, but at the time he was all Nico saw in the world. The guy went along with it and drug him along just to drop him out of the blue. He did it right in front of the school too, with everyone watching, and Nico was absolutely humiliated and heartbroken.”

 

            She was already rooting for the dark eyed boy, but hearing this made something in Annabeth swell with protectiveness. Hazel paused and stared down into her glass. “What happened?”

 

            Hazel looked at her blandly. “Nico has always been such a trusting boy, always so willing to give and love and please. He likes to pretend he has his heart safeguarded away in some locked tower far from the rest of the world, but he’s still healing from the heartbreak of first love, and that makes him vulnerable.”

 

            The rest of their friends were still conversing amicably but the figurative silence fell heavy on the room in Annabeth’s ears. “Is that all your worried about?”

 

            “Well, I think that’s a pretty big thing to be worried about.”

 

            Annabeth smiled a little sadly and rested her eyes down on the cloth of the table. “This is different, I think.” The girls locked eyes and Hazel blinked at her owlishly. “I hope so.”

 

            Percy came out of the kitchen carrying two large bowls of salad and Nico followed after him with another bowl and a bottle of vinaigrette. They sat them down evenly on their makeshift table where everyone could reach them easily. Nico poured the vinaigrette in sweeping motions over the three bowls and then sprinkled cheese into them.

 

            He pulled out three tongs from his back pockets and put them in each bowl. When he was done he looked around at everyone nervously, trying to ignore the fact that they were all looking at him expectantly. “Uh, this is Caesar salad to start you off with. The appetizer should be ready in half an hour and then dinner should be served less than half an hour after that. Dessert will be in the fridge, so we can have that whenever after you are all done eating.”

 

            He turned to walk back into the kitchen, but Annabeth panicked a little and called out to him. “Nico! Why don’t you stay out here and eat with us for a bit.”

 

            His face was a mask of forced neutrality but he managed an only slightly painful expression of apology when he shook his head. “I already have dinner cooking and the oven is still on. Percy can toss the salad for you if you like, I showed him how, but I have to get back.” He was only a few steps away when he addressed her again, looking a little more sincere but still uncomfortable. “But, thank you.”

 

            When he was gone, Percy went into overdrive and tossed each bowl of salad mechanically before putting a small amount on his salad plate he retrieved from in front of his seat and ran back towards the kitchen like a tape caught in fast forward.

 

            Annabeth smiled knowingly and caught Hazel’s eye. “Yes, definitely different.”

 

* * *

  

 

            Nico was just putting the appetizer in the oven when Percy came back in, a plate of salad cradled in his arm. Nico grabbed a spoon and started stirring the contents in the bowl in front of him and lifted a brow at the green-eyed boy. “You not going to eat with the others?”

 

             In lieu of replying, he took a big forkful of lettuce and shoved it into his mouth. He rolled his eyes back and moaned appreciatively. The stretch of his neck as he threw his head back, his entire body shaking with pleasure, was positively obscene. Nico swallowed thickly and forced his eyes back to bowl in his hands.

 

            He tried to ignore Percy altogether, but he kept moaning and rolling his body sensually, inching his way across the room until he gave up all pretense and hopped up onto the counter beside him. He gave Nico an innocent look when he stared up at him disbelievingly. “What?”

 

            “You are something else, you know that?” Nico sighed.

 

            Percy grinned. “So, what are you making for us, cookie?”

 

            Nico glared at him halfheartedly but the affect was lost on Percy since he was hovering two feet above him. “Don’t call me cookie.” After a brief pause where he waited for Percy to nod his head in affirmation, he taped the spoon on the side of the bowl. “You see this?”

 

            They both looked down into bowl. It was a mixture of finely diced tomatoes mixed with Basil. “This is the topping for Bruschetta. It goes on top of the bread I have in the oven, which I need to take out now.”

 

            He stooped and withdrew the spread with his gloved hands, setting it on the table and grabbing three platters. He set about pouring an equal amount of the tomato mix on each plate and placing oval slices of crispy bread next to them. “This is the appetizer. Care to help me take it out?”

 

            Nico grabbed for the plates but Percy stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He spooned some of the tomatoes back into the bowl they came from and sat two pieces of bread on a napkin. Percy smiled at him then and picked up the platter. “I take it you will be eating in here, then?” Nico deadpanned.

 

            He shook his head gleefully and turned on his heel. They both walked out into the main section of the restaurant again, this time with Percy carrying one platter and Nico carrying two. They sat down the appetizer to whoops of appreciation and Nico took the empty salad bowls under each of his arms.

 

            Percy cleared his throat loudly and gave everyone an obnoxious bow. “I present to you your appetizer for the evening, made by myself and my delicious assistant. Enjoy your Pruschetto! ”

 

           Nico shot him a glare and shook his head in a blend of exasperation and fondness. “One, its Bruschetta. Two, I am not the assistant. And three, you didn’t help with shit, unless you count knocking shit down and being a general nuisance.”

 

            The table exploded into laughter and Nico allowed himself an indulgent smile before heading back to the kitchen. Percy was right on his heels and started munching on the Bruschetta while Nico filled the tortellini shells with the paste he made.

 

            They worked in silence for quite a while. Nico finished filling the shells, popped it into the oven, started the sauce on the stove, and was just beginning to make dessert before Percy broke the silence. “Where did you learn to cook, Nico?”

 

            He gave him a brief look under his eyelashes. “Mia Madre mi ha insegnato a raffreddare quando ero malto piccolo quando vivevamo a Venezia.”

 

            Percy stared at him with his mouth half open. Nico wandered if he should put a bucket under his jaw to catch the drool. “Um, your mom taught you how to cook?”

 

            Nico scoffed and continued to stir the mix for the crepes. “You just guessed that.”

 

            “It was a good guess though, huh?”

 

            “I said my mother taught me how to cook when I was very small when we lived in Venice.”

 

            Percy looked impressed at this and dipped his finger into the mix he was stirring, bringing it to his lips and sucking on it meditatively. For a minute Nico just stared at his mouth, imagining how it tasted, and if it tasted better off of Percy’s lips. When Percy noticed his stare, he tried to hide his smirk and dipped his finger in while he was distracted. He brought his fingertip to Nico’s lips and swiped it over them.

 

            Nico flushed and instinctively licked the whip cream and raspberries from his lips, turning away from so he wouldn’t have to look Percy in the eyes. He coughed awkwardly and ignored the chuckle from behind his back. “Um, E delizioso, no?”

 

            His back was still turned so he didn’t catch Percy looking at his butt and saying “yes, yes it is.”

 

            The oven beeped and Nico took the pasta out and poured the sauce over it and added more cheese before putting it back in the oven. “The cheese just needs to melt now. It should be good on a short notice.”

 

            “I’m sure it will be just amazing. Everything else you’ve made so far has been.”

 

            While the cheese melted, Nico finished the making the crepes and set them in the fridge to cool. “Grazie. Usually I’d serve them hot, but with fruit, I prefer them chilled.”

 

            “They look beautiful.”

 

            Nico whipped his head toward Percy, who was looking at him innocently. He couldn’t help it; he must have been standing too close to the oven and got heat stroke because he just let it slip out. “Sei molto bella.”

 

            Percy smiled at him but furrowed his brows in a way that made him look like an otter. It shouldn’t be that adorable. “What does that mean, Neeks?”

 

            He busied himself with pulling the finished tortellini out of the oven and getting out ten plates. “Um, it means they’re beautiful. I was, uh, agreeing with you. Get me a couple of those carry away trays, will you?” Percy nodded his head and retrieved them from the wall opposite them, putting up no fight, so Nico was sure Percy was over it already.

 

            They worked together to put pasta on each plate and Nico took the bread he made earlier and put it in the oven to heat it up before cutting it into squares. “What’s that?” Percy asked.

 

            “Focaccia. It’s a bread my mother used to make us all the time. Sometimes we would just have this with garlic spread. Sort of like Pizza dough, you’ll like it.”

 

            When each plate was filled with pasta and bread, Nico stuffed Percy’s pockets with silverware wrapped in napkins, with only one suggestive remark to accompany it-“ _Jeez Neeks, I know you’ve made me dinner first, but if you wanted to get in my pants that bad, we could have skipped dinner_ ”-and then stuck a bottle of wine under each of his arms before picking up one of the trays and heading out to the table.

 

            Percy followed behind with the other tray and he served everyone a plate while Nico served everyone wine. “So, today your entre is cheesy Tortellini, pasta, no meat, but with alfredo sauce. The wine is pinot grigio, a white wine native to Italy. Hope you all enjoy.”

 

            Everyone tucked in right away, and Nico only hesitated a little before doing so as well. It was a little strange not saying grace before a meal, as his mother’s side of the family was strictly Catholic, and even though it was toned down a little when it was just their dad, Nico still followed the faith, either out of habit or remembrance to their mother. But it was more of a relief than anything.

 

            Dinner was nice. There was light conversation and airy laughter floating around the table and everyone complemented Nico on his cooking, saying how truly extraordinary it is. Nico would blush and nod his head. He only picked at his food, choosing to move it around his plate with his fork more than anything, but it made him proud that his new friends, as he was beginning to think of them, liked his cooking. He mostly sipped at his wine and listened to Annabeth talk about the buildings she was designing, Leo complain about how much Calypso was working lately, and Hazel telling Percy about the new horses at the stadium.

 

            He was rarely an active participant in the conversations, but he was still brought in with a simple “what do you think, Nico?” or “can you believe that?” Nico would smile and nod or answer in the shortest way possible, content to listen. Even without those small reassurances that he wasn’t the tenth wheel, he still would have felt wanted, if only for the heated looks Percy kept shooting his way.

 

            Percy was sat in front of him, with Grover on his right and Annabeth on his left beside Piper. Jason was sitting on Nico’s left and Hazel was sitting on his right next to Juniper. Frank was on the end by Hazel, facing in, with Leo on the opposite end of the table respectively. There wasn’t a lot Nico could do to avoid Percy’s eyes since he was right in front of him and looking at his sorta-on-again-off-again girlfriend or roommate wasn’t that appealing either. It would be even more awkward to turn and face his sister or his almost-employer. So try as he did to keep his eyes trained on his wine glass and plate, a guy could only look down for so long before people started wondering if he was staring at his crotch and wasn’t that an awkward question to answer?

 

            He looked up and Percy was staring right at him, no surprise there. The surprise was the intensity in gaze. His emerald eyes were glowing and fierce, locked onto his and refusing to let him escape. His lids were half lowered but that did nothing to lessen the knives of pleasure he was sending to Nico’s body to tingle up and down his spine.

 

            Nico swallowed heavily and looked around the table but no one seemed to be paying attention, completely engrossed in their conversations. Almost like Percy’s gaze was an irresistible magnet, Nico was drawn back to it, and it felt like coming home. Those pools of harlequin were unlike anything he had ever seen before, except maybe in his dreams. Nico felt the lust pouring from those orbs in waves, crashing over him, consuming him, drowning him. He didn’t know what to do or even if these feelings were good or bad.

 

            Then Percy took a bite of his food and left sauce on the corner of his lips, waiting until Nico looked up to slowly swipe the tip of his tongue through the mess and along the seams, parting his lips to graze it over his teeth. Nico shivered and had to close his eyes. That was so cliché; he didn’t even know what to think of it actually working.

 

            His eyes snapped open to make sure nobody had witnessed their exchange, but it seemed everyone was still paying them no attention. Ah…and apparently that wasn’t his biggest problem either. Oh no, that would be too easy. He couldn’t make everyone a nice dinner, have mostly one-sided conversations that were still nice, get to know these nice people, maybe make some nice friends, go back to the dorm and have a nice shower then get some nice sleep and hopefully have a nice day tomorrow. Oh no, that would be too  _nice_  and easy, he had to get a boner right in the middle of dinner to top it off.

 

            He couldn’t sit here with a hard-on and eat dinner and play nice, because nice doesn’t seem to be working for him tonight. He weighed the pros and cons of getting up to cool off in the bathroom and remaining seated and trying to ignore Percy for the rest of the night. One look up at Percy, his steamy gaze still undressing him with his eyes, and his decision was made. There was no way he was going to be able to ignore Percy and it was only going to get worse the longer he sat there.

 

            Quickly, he stood up and threw his napkin over his plate. He probably stood up  _too_  quickly, because everyone turned to stare at him when his chair made an unfortunate squawking noise, the table became quiet. He looked at everyone nervously, face red, and caught Percy’s eyes. He winked at him and subtly glanced down and Nico hurried to cover his front discreetly.

 

            “Um, sorry. Don’t mind me. I’m just going to use the restroom.” That seemed to placate everyone, well, everyone but Percy who he avoided looking at in fear of that smug look being directed at him again. He made his way as quickly as he could to the restrooms, which he did very ineloquently since he had no idea where he was going at first and most of the blood he required for thinking was pooling below his waistline.

 

            When he finally found them after a very helpful and very embarrassing shout from Juniper across the restaurant, he pushed his way inside and headed straight for the sink. It had beautiful interior much like the inside of the restaurant with lots of subtle reds, whites, and blacks with dim lighting. The sinks had marble table tops and gold faucets, but the only thing Nico cared about at that moment was if they worked because he needed cold water stat.

 

            He splashed cold water on his face and patted them until they were pink. It wasn’t working. Most likely because all he could think about while splashing his face was a soaking wet, preferably naked, Percy. Okay, no, not helping. New plan.

 

            He was trying with everything he had to get rid of his boner before he was in here longer than was strictly normal. Come on, anything, Nico thought to himself; his dad in a women’s bathing suit, his grandma making out with a Kiss member, his half sister doing body shots off of Percy last night-nope, that last one not helping, now all he can think about is Percy’s abs and how they felt like against his tongue, oh gods…

 

            Nico heard the door start to creak open and he moved fast to turn on the taps of the sink and ‘finish’ washing his hands. He tried to keep his head down but he couldn’t help but to peep up into the mirror to see who it was. Ah, of course. Who else would it be, with his luck? His life was apparently a high school romance novel, although admittedly slightly different from the norm, so of course it had to be Percy who walked into the bathroom at that moment. It would be a disappointment if it was anyone else.

 

            Swallowing harshly, he dried his hands and threw the paper away, still facing the mirror but planning to bolt at any moment. That plan was soon out of the question when Percy came to stand directly behind him. If Nico thought he would stop there and continue with his game to try to intimidate him, then he would be wrong.

 

            Percy didn’t stop until his whole front was pressed to Nico’s back which in turn pressed Nico’s hips into the counter in front of him. Nico gasped and closed his eyes, not wanting to meet Percy’s eyes in the mirror. With his eyes closed, he could focus on his breathing, but the down side to that was it also made it easier for him to focus on the feel of Percy’s hips pressed into his own and the counter on his stubborn erection.

 

            Neither of them moved or said anything for a while. The only sound in the bathroom was their ragged breathing and Nico’s small, almost nonexistent mewls of appreciation. It was only when Percy bent down to nuzzle at the base of Nico’s neck with his nose did he finally manage the breath to speak.

 

            “Urgh, what…what are you doing…Percy?” Well, at least he thought he managed a little more than panting moans and some semblance of words, but what he said instead was “Urgh, what’re ya’don…Perce.”

 

            Percy seemed to get the picture though, because he paused in his ministrations and breathed hotly in Nico’s ear. “I know you want me, Nico.” It seemed extremely unfair at the moment that Percy seemed completely put together when Nico was barely managing to form a complete thought. That stubbornness sobered him a bit and he used that moment of clarity to turn around and stare him resolutely in the eyes. “No. I, uh, no.”

 

            Percy wasted no time in moving onto his prey and closed the distance between them immediately. They were once again pressed together, this time front to front. Nico barely had the coherence left to move his head aside when Percy swooped down for a kiss and was instead met with the side of his neck. And when Nico’s mind finally caught up with his body, there was the most divine pressure on his hips and Percy was busy sucking tiny kisses into his neck.

 

            Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by the half-hard cock that was pressing so nicely next to his own persistent erection. Sure, Percy had been teasing him a lot and trying to be intimidating, but he hadn’t necessarily tried anything yet, not even a kiss. Well, that he had been aware of. Yesterday at that club, well, there was still a lot he was fuzzy on.

 

            He came back to reality with a groan when Percy breathed hotly in his ear what he was sure were filthy words, but he was too euphoric to hear them properly. It wasn’t until he felt Percy’s hand snake from his chest all the way down to his waist where it stopped briefly before cupping Nico’s more-than-a-little half hard cock through his jeans that Nico keened and threw his head back, basking in the full assault of pleasure gripping at his body. “Percy…”

 

            The green eyed boy smirked against his jaw and licked a long stripe up his neck until he reached the underside of his ear. He nibbled on the lobe lightly before breathing out a reply. “Mm, yeah, Nico?”

 

            Gods, Nico didn’t think there was anything in the world or anything not of the world he would turn down if offered at the moment to just stay here with Percy, breathing the same air, pressed against each other, consumed in their pleasure, for a lifetime.

 

            That was the thought that jolted him from the cloud he made in his own personal heaven and sent him tumbling back down to earth. When did he start thinking about forever? He barely knew this boy. He’d only known him for not even a week for fuck’s sake! Nico wasn’t that stupid, he didn’t believe in all that bullshit about falling in love with someone at first sight or even anything under three months, and three months was pushing it. He had known Alex for two years before he allowed himself to open up to him, and even then it was a gradual process.

 

            And he was ready to throw all of his values and beliefs, all of his previous views he had on life and the kind of person he was, throw all of that away for one Percy Jackson, whom he had known for a total of four days? That was seriously not okay with him, despite his boner’s apparently alternate plans.

 

            Percy was still cupping him through pants, gently squeezing and moving his hand in a circular motion that was driving him up the wall. He knew he was only using him, and that was the thought he drew strength from to stop this nonsense. It was truly a shame that he had to stop, but he had to get away, and get away fast or he was going to let Percy have his way and he couldn’t do that. Not for a second time when he was sure his heart couldn’t be stitched back together again.

 

            With as much strength as he could muster, which culminated to the equivalent of a newborn kitten swiping its paw at its mother, Nico shoved at Percy’s chest. There was no way he could have even moved him an inch on his own, but Percy moved away from him willingly.

 

            He moved back just enough to put a couple of inches between their bodies, their only point of contact was Nico’s hand on Percy’s chest that lingered there lightly. They didn’t move for a while, just stood there breathing heavily the same air with Percy staring at Nico and Nico staring at his hand on Percy’s chest. When his breathing was somewhat controlled, though no less erratic he noted with annoyance, he gulped and raised his head to meet Percy’s eyes. 

 

            They locked eyes and Nico leaned slightly away when their noses brushed, swallowing again before clearing his throat. “Erm…” Nico became very aware that he was standing in a public restroom making out, kind of, with another boy, where anyone could walk in and see them. He panicked.

 

            “I, uh, I have to go…!” With that, Nico fled the bathroom, momentarily brushing against Percy once more to escape his proximity. He didn’t even look back at Percy, because he was afraid if he did, his only future would be as a pillar of salt.

 

            He tries to look as composed as possible under the circumstances, but he evidently wasn’t trying hard enough judging by the smug looks he was getting from all around the table. He reddened further and hastily grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I have to go. I don’t feel too well.”

 

            Juniper started to get up but he held his hand up to stop here. “No, it’s okay. My stomach just isn’t settling, I better get back to the dorms. Um, when you guys are finished with dinner, there’s dessert in the fridge in the kitchen. P-Percy can show you. They’re crepes.”

 

            He was shrugging on his jacket as fast as he could but lingered by the table when Juniper spoke up anyway, but remained seated. “Okay, that’s no problem. I’ll take care of everything in the kitchen.”

 

            There was a chorus of agreement and well wishes from his new ‘friends’. Percy had come back out of the bathroom by then, still wearing his subtle smug smile but there was something in his eyes resembling concern that Nico didn’t want to analyze.

            He fled from the restaurant before Percy could get any closer, grabbed a taxi relatively quickly, and tried not to think about anything remotely close to Percy, love, relationships or water, because his boner was replaced by the need to pee in his nervousness. Damn it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lamb’s Club is an actual restaurant in New York, but everything else about it is fictional.  
> Monsieur is French for sir  
> Thyme is a very common herb used in French cuisine  
> Mon jeune ami is French for my young friend  
> Mon garcon is French for my boy  
> Tortellini is an Italian pasta that is stuffed with cheese or meat and smothered in various types of broth or sauce. It is my favourite Italian dish ever! Tastes good with bacon bits  
> Focaccia is an Italian bread that is similar to pizza dough and typically topped with olive oil and salt and herbs.  
> Bruschetta is a crispy grilled bread that you top with tomato, meat, or anything else really.  
> Pinot grigio is a white grapey wine that is grown in Italy.  
> Crepes are like thin pancakes wrapped up around something sweet like fruit or dessert stuff.  
> Sei molto bella is Italian for you are very beautiful  
> The pillar of salt Nico refers to at the end of the chapter is a reference to the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family were warned by angles that Sodom was doomed by the Lord to be destroyed because of its sins and took them out of the city, where they warned them not to look back at the city or dither. Lot’s wife looked back at the city and was thusly turned into a pillar of salt.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr! [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	7. Sunday, August 24th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to all of my readers and everyone who has left kudos or comments. Your kind words truly drive me and make for a very happy writer ^_^  
> This chapter focuses some more on character development and also gives some background story, but there is a little fluff as well for being such sweet readers.

            He did not wake slowly to a pleasant dream this time, wrapped in calming colors and awash with contentment. There were no voices enticing him back into dreamland or the promise of continued warmth if he was to live this moment in the flesh for just a moment longer. There was nothing apologetic about his abrupt awakening into consciousness, no sweet allure that entreated him to slowly open his eyes to meet the world.

            There was only a sudden and shocking jolt that shivered down his prostrate form and forced his eyes open all at once, his gaze sliding lazily and without recognition. He laid there for a few minutes straining his ears and eyes to find the reason behind him being startled awake. When none came, he laid there still, blinking owlishly and without concern for where he was or any acknowledgement that he even knew _who_ he was.

            Dark eyes languishingly peered at the room in tiny sweeping movements until they finally rested on bright green lights that were just out of arms reach, taunting him with all of its knowledge of the future and begging him to ask if he surely knew Gatsby. What wonders those strange green fixtures could hold for him if only he knew what they meant.

            Nico’s brain finally started to kick into gear and he recognized that the green lights were telling him it was 11:45 am. He stared at them blankly until it rolled over to 11:46am wondering why it felt like he was missing something. He didn’t have a church to go to, so it couldn’t be that particular Sunday activity.

            Sunday.

            Sunday? Oh, shit. It was Sunday. Nico whipped his head back toward the clock, now reading 11:47 am. Oh, shit. His first day at work was supposed to start in 13 minutes.

            With determination and skills Nico didn’t even know he possessed, he managed to pull on a fresh pair of burgundy pants and a Death Note t-shirt he wore the other day to bed before rushing out of the dorm with the door slamming at his exit.

            And then he had to go back into the room rather sheepishly because he was barefoot and smelled like dirty laundry.

            Fresh socks with accompanying shoes and three quick sprits of cologne later, Nico left the room for good that time with ten minutes to spare.

            The mix of a fast walk with a quick jog and awkward shuffling he was performing earned him a few confused looks and even more sarcastic wolf whistles, but he made it half away across campus and to Popina Olympus with seconds to spare. He had slowed down to a skidding halt when he reached the doors leading to the bistro, but one look at Jason had him running again.  The blond haired menace was holding his hand up that matched the numbers he was mouthing at him mirthfully.

            FIVE.

            Nico came to a stop when he saw him counting down the seconds until he was officially late on his first day on the job, thinking that no way he would hold that against him when he was right in front of him. That thought lasted a whole second before Jason reached over with his other hand to swipe his manager card at the attendance log.

            FOUR.

            Nico started walking a little faster, now reaching the speed of a fast walker gearing up for a marathon. Surely he would stop counting now.

            THREE.

            Nope, he was really doing this. That was when Nico truly broke into a sprint for the first time in two years.

            TWO.

            ONE.

            Nico reached out with his own employee card and swiped it at the machine just when Jason said one. He sighed with relief, even though he still thought it was doubtful Jason would fire him over that. He enjoyed the easy banter it looked like they were going to maintain.

            Jason laughed loudly and threw his hand up for a high five which Nico hesitantly returned. “Nice one, my friend. Let’s get you working, yeah?”

            And Nico smiled at him gratefully, a genuine smile that was rare to come upon on his features.

* * *

 

            Jason explained to him the menu they kept at Popina Olympus, which mainly consisted of sandwiches and salads and a larger variety of drink options than there were food options, and then showed him the ropes on how to work the meat and cheese slicers. Then Nico made sandwiches upon sandwiches upon sandwiches until there wasn’t a sandwich left on this earth that Nico hadn’t made.

            He was working until four in the afternoon that day and around two Jason came by to snag him for a break, leaving the bistro in the hands of some of the other employees. Nico ordered a black coffee and grabbed a pomegranate before they settled down at a table near the entrance.

            Nico cut the pomegranate in half and sipped at his coffee while Jason devoured the turkey sandwich he bought. The man ate like he was starving and it was gone in mere minutes. When he was done he sat back in his chair and patted his stomach happily with a stupid grin on his face. He thought he looked ridiculous but he couldn’t help but to smile a little back at him.

            “So,” Jason started, “Percy seems quite taken with you.”

            Of all the things that Nico was expecting him to say or comment on, that was not it. He raised an eyebrow at him and tried to keep his expression neutral despite his urge to turn into a squealing ten year old girl asking really, really, really? What did he say, did he mention me? Instead he answered coolly, “Why do you say that?”

            Jason shrugged and rocked the chair back and forth on its legs. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because of the way you guys devoured each other when we did body shots at the club, practically had sex with him while dancing, and then continued to be glued at the hip, and crotch might I add, for the rest of the night?”

            Nico was blushing so furiously by the time Jason had finished speaking that he was surprised his face hadn’t burst into flame. He was so drunk that night that he barely remembered anything. He remembered doing shots with everyone and being slightly…less than innocent when speaking to Percy and the taste of his abs were a prominent feature in his memory. He remembered dancing with Percy later, everything a blur of color and feeling, and then of course his impromptu tattoo Percy had given him. But other than that, everything was either too hazy to make out or completely lost to his memory. He hadn’t thought they were that bad…

            Jason was still smirking at him like he knew had him exactly where he wanted him, which Nico took as a personal challenge. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

            Unfortunately, Jason didn’t seem to take the bait, choosing instead to continue on with his train of thought like Nico’s defiance wasn’t even a blip in his radar. “You guys are cute together.”

            Nico sputtered and glared at the table defiantly. There was no way in hell he was going to grace that bastard with the satisfaction of knowing that a simple five word statement could please him so damn much. He glanced up at him derisively under his eyebrows and put as much venom in it as possible. When Jason’s eyes softened further at his scowl and he looked like he was about to coo at the younger man, Nico redoubled his efforts and pinched him in the arm for good measure. “Shut up, Grace.”

            He laughed a huge belly laugh and Thalia came over and flung a rag down on their table. She raised her eyebrow at Jason’s red face and Nico’s cool indifference, putting her hands on her hips. Jason calmed down enough where the two of his sisters morphed back into one, although she was admittedly slightly blurry.

            “Hey, Thals, what’s up?”

            She sighed and flopped down into an empty chair next to him, her piercing blue eyes swept over the bistro before coming to rest on her brother’s matching gaze. “School has barely started and Lady Artemis is already all over my ass to whip the Hunters into shape for our first district meet.”

            Nico gazed at her confusedly and chewed on a few pomegranate seeds. “Lady Artemis? Hunters?”

            Thalia snatched the other half of his pomegranate up and sucked some of the juice out of it, promptly grimacing at the flavor. “Lady Artemis is the Archery coach here at SOCU. The Hunters are one of the teams on campus, the best if I do say so myself. It’s a girl power only sort of group, which is why we kick ass; less testosterone to dumb down our performance. I’m lieutenant.”

            He nodded along with her and wadded his pomegranate up in a napkin. She gave him the other half she had snatched along with it, so he gathered the all the trash and went to throw it away.

            When he came back, Thalia was standing and had Jason in a headlock, the guy looking a little worse for wear and in need of a lungful of fresh breath. He chose not to comment and instead sat back down and eyed the scene with amusement. After a few more seconds, he tapped wildly on her arm and she let him go with a smug grin.

            Jason coughed and caught his breath as best he could. “Jeez Thals, I didn’t mean it. I’m sure everyone talks in their sleep about how dreamy Luke Castellan is.”

            Thalia lunged for him again, murder written clearly on her face, but Jason scrambled up and shot around the table, coming to stand behind Nico. The dark haired boy snorted and looked at him over his shoulder. “Don’t hide behind me, dude. You can’t escape the wrath of your sister. Believe me, I’ve tried, and it never works.”

            She acted like she was coming at him one more time, making him flinch and crouch behind Nico even more, before rolling her eyes and sighing dramatically. “You’re lucky I’m in a hurry.” She flung the rag she put down earlier over Nico’s head and at Jason’s face. “I have class. Drew and Clarisse are about to be done for the day too, so it’s just going to be you for a while after Nico leaves. Remember to do what I told you to do. I’ll be back around 6.”

            With that she walked away with the confidence of a predator stalking its prey. When she reached the doors, she threw Jason a last glare over her shoulder. “Don’t think this is you getting away for what you said, revenge will be soon to follow, and oh, how it will be sweet.”

            Nico laughed at the familiar words that had been the subject of many of his and Bianca’s conversations over the years. He turned and smiled a little pitying at Jason, who was shuddering with visible dread at his older sister’s words.

            They lapsed into comfortable, idle chit chat after that, talking about nothing in particular, just wasting time before having to head back to work.

            Jason was laughing about something stupid that Percy did when they were all twelve years old or something and went to the same camp, sponsored and ran by the school apparently. Nico thought that was a little weird, but Jason assured him it was ‘totes cool’ and then promised to never utter that phrase again under threat of death by painfully slow torture.

            “So, and then-”, obnoxious pause for stifled laughter, “Percy freaking asked what ‘whores de vers’ were!” At that point, Jason was doubled over in laughter and gasping for breath. Nico was smiling at Jason’s antics, trying not to be too concerned about whether or not Jason was actually going to choke on his own spit and leave Nico to close the Bistro and find a suitable place to bury his dead body on a short notice.

            The blond wiped some very manly tears off of his cheeks and reined in his laughter. “Yeah. So, anyway, that was when Annabeth smacked him on the back of the head and called him Seaweed Brain for the first time and it stuck ever since.”

            Nico was thankful for the small pieces of Percy’s life he was getting form Jason, but he was feeling a little guilty when Annabeth was mentioned. He was still a little confused on the dynamic of their relationship. Were they together? Were they just friends? A confusing mixture of both?

            He coughed and tried not to look as awkward as he felt. He knew he was probably being selfish, but he couldn’t care less at the moment. He needed to know.

            “So, uh, Annabeth. How long has she and Percy been together?”

            “Well, I met them when we were all preteens. I think they knew each other before that though. They’ve always been best friends.”

            Nico nodded and thumbed at a smudge on the table, picking up the rag and rubbing at it absent mindedly. “Yeah, I mean, they make a great couple.” At his last word Nico looked subtly up at him, trying to emphasize what he was asking without actually saying it.

            Jason, the increasingly smart but dumb blond, just nodded his head and said “it comes with knowing each other for years. We’re all like that just about.”

            He sighed exasperatedly at the blue eyed fool and realized being subtle wasn’t going to work with Jason. He tried a more direct tactic, using Jason’s own words to make his point. “Yeah, I suppose so. But, I mean, they’ve been together forever almost. They seem quite taken with one another.”

            “Um, yeah, like I said, known each other for a long time. They’ll be best friends forever, that’s for sure.”

            Ah, there was his winning ticket. Nico cocked his head to side and tried to look quizzical. “Friends?”

            Jason looked confused for a minute too. “Yeah, friends. That’s what I said.” Nico continued to look at him, giving him his best ‘are you serious’ glare. Jason’s face became more and more confused until it completely clear and his eyebrows rose. Nico could see the exact moment everything clicked into place for him and man, it was painful watching him struggle to get there.

            “Oh! Yeah, they have a…let’s say complicated relationship.”

            “Complicated how?”

            Jason leaned back comfortably in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “Well, like I’ve said, they’ve known each other forever. But knowing someone for that long can tear two people apart just as much as bring them together. They started dating a year after I met them. We were thirteen and love was still new and awkward and fantastic. They were together, only with each other, for a long time after that. When we were seniors in High School, Percy was eighteen and Annabeth was seventeen, something happened.”

            That caught Nico’s full attention. “What happened?”

            “We all went to the same camp, you know? Well, we decided to go on this vacation together as our Senior trip. And even though some of us weren’t Seniors yet, that being everyone but Percy and Annabeth, we still called it a Senior trip. Everyone went except Grover because his mom thought he was too young to go out of the country on his own and Juniper, who I didn’t know yet. We went to Italy actually, and saw the Parthenon and all this architecture stuff that I couldn’t tell you a lick about but Annabeth was fangirling over.”

            Jason paused for a while and smiled a little, lost in his memories Nico supposed. He came back to himself a few second later, expression becoming grimmer.

            “We were all pretty much ready to head back to the hotel one day, ready to eat some food and pass out in our rooms, but Annabeth wanted to use the last little bit of daylight left to see one last thing. I don’t even remember what it was, but Percy didn’t want her to go alone, so they went off on their own and the rest of us headed back to hotel and settled down for the night. They had a room together, so we didn’t notice anything was wrong for a while.”

            Jason paused again and Nico could tell this one was heavier than the last. When he did finally speak, his voice was weighted down with memory. It was almost like he had forgotten Nico was there and was just talking to himself, reminiscent about the things in his past.

            “I went in the morning to their room to get them for breakfast. No one answered so I assumed they were still asleep. I didn’t know how late they got back so I decided to let them sleep. Around noon we were going to go out into the city again so I went back to get them, but no one answered the door once again. I got concerned so I asked one of the employees in broken Italian while reading from a dictionary that I was worried about my friends and if he could open the door and check on them. I think he understood my desperation more than my Italian, but either way, he went in the room and no one was there.”

            Nico leaned forward in his seat. He knew that nothing too bad could have happened seeing as they were still alive and well four years later, but he still couldn’t help but to be concerned.

            “We went out ourselves and looked for them all day, asking around if anyone had seen them in shops, museums, parks, anywhere we thought they might have gone. We couldn’t find them. After we searched all day, we finally decided they had been gone long enough to report it to the police.”

            Nico interrupted him with a quick, “they found them, right?”, too anxious to let him finish. Instead of answering Jason raised an eyebrow at him and waited until he reclined back in his seat to finish.

            “They started looking that night and continued to look for three days. We were scared that they were just going to be gone and we weren’t going to find them. There was this guy they had that was working for foreign relations or something that spoke English, so that was all I cared about. They told us that they might have…might have been kidnapped and sold into this slave trafficking thing.”

            Nico furrowed his eyebrow at that and looked around before leaning closer to Jason. “Slave trafficking as in…?”

            “Like slaves, Nico. Slaves as in young kids that are picked up in Europe as tourists and never leave. It could have been anything, it’s a wide business. House slaves, drug slave, sex slaves…people think that the slave trade business became obsolete after the civil war but it’s still a booming business, just more underground now.”

            That was slightly terrifying if he was being honest. Even after all of these years he still thought of Italy as his home and he wanted to move back there eventually, but that was a jarring thought. He knew it wasn’t something that happens every day, but it’s still a thought to consider. He looked back at Jason after a minute and nodded his head. “Go ahead.”

            “After three days, they called off the search. We were furious, but I guess that sort of thing happens more often than it should, so after three days they stop the search for missing tourists, just assuming they’re gone for good. We canceled our flight and kept looking. Five days after they went missing, Leo found them by accident. He found this hole that was ‘just begging to be explored’ and threw a rope down. After he went down the way a while, he came into this huge open space. And there they were, with about ten others. Half starved, dehydrated and in serious need of a little sunlight.”

            Nico was beyond shocked; he didn’t know how to respond. What do you say to someone who just told you that these two young kids, whom he knows, were kidnapped and almost sold into slavery? That was never a question he had pondered for long. Finally he cleared his throat. “How were they taken?”

            “That’s the thing. It seems like when they were on their way back, Annabeth accidently fell into the hole. She wasn’t looked where she was going and she just fell right through. It was obviously a natural hole but further in it looked man-made so she wanted to explore it. She made Percy stay up top incase she couldn’t get out and needed his help, she broke her ankle even, but she still wanted to check it out. When she went in deeper, she found the other people that were already there, tied up and looking terrified of her. She went back to the entrance and told Percy and about that time a couple of men came up behind her and grabbed her, taking her back further into the hole. Percy, being the Seaweed Brain that he is, didn’t hesitate to jump right in after her instead of going to get help. They subdued them and that was that.”

            They sat in silence for a few minutes; Nico trying to process all the information he was just given and Jason lost in memories. After a while, Nico realized that though the story was interesting and he was glad to know, he still didn’t understand how it led to them having a complicated relationship. If anything, he thought, it would push them even closer together.

            “That’s terrible, and I’m glad they’re both fine, but what does this have to do with them having a ‘complicated relationship’?”

            Jason looked slightly uncomfortable at first, but seemed to find his resolution and set his jaw determinately. “When Percy jumped in after her to help, he did something that scared her.”

            “Scared her how?”

            Jason held Nico’s eye until he became almost uncomfortable. “He killed one of the men.”

            Nico’s jaw fell open and his eyes widened until his eyebrows drew into his hairline. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. “Percy…killed someone?”

            Jason nodded and stared down at the table. “They were going to kill them at first, saying how since they saw them, they couldn’t be allowed to live. One of the guys convinced them to let them live and be sold instead, seeing how young and useful they could be. One of the guys started to mess with Annabeth, touching her face and calling her beautiful and just overall doing nothing good. Percy wormed his way out of the grip of his captor somehow and just went crazy trying to help her. One of the men drew a gun and shot him on the underside of his left arm, but Percy got the gun and shot the guy right in the chest.”

            “Percy was SHOT?” Nico was a little ashamed that his first reaction to what Jason was saying was concern for a wound that obviously didn’t kill anyone instead of concern for a man that was killed. But then again, he wasn’t too concerned since the man was a kidnapper and sold slaves for a living.

            Jason thankfully didn’t seem fazed, just nodded his head solemnly and went on with the story. “Yeah, he was fine though. He didn’t even get an infection from it not being properly treated for five days. After he killed the son of a bitch, there were just too many of them. He beat two others up pretty well before he was overwhelmed. They tied him up and that’s the way they stayed until Leo stumbled in on them.”

            This was pretty heavy talk for a Sunday afternoon.

            Nico coughed and Jason cleared his throat, but that was the only conversation they had until it was time for them to get back to work.

            “So,” Nico said, “I guess Annabeth was scared of Percy because he killed that guy?”

            “No, she is scared of Percy because she thinks that he could do it again if he had to. She doesn’t want to be with him that way because she doesn’t want to live with the fear of losing him.”

            “But they’re still kind of together?”

            “They’ll always be close, but mostly they’re just best friends. That was only the main reason they stopped being exclusive after all. The other was that they both realized they weren’t as straight as they thought they were.”

            Nico laughed and just like that, the tension between them broke and everything was at ease again.

* * *

 

            Nico glanced up at the clock. 3:45pm. He was off in fifteen minutes. Nico like working in the bistro, really, but it was his first day and he was exhausted. Especially since walk in had really slowed down so Nico hadn’t had a customer in almost an hour and he was wiping down the same counter he had been for the last twenty minutes.

            The bell on the door chimed and Nico sighed in relief. He straightened up and started to put on his best customer friendly face he had been perfecting over the last four hours. And then he saw who the customer was and promptly dropped the act and focused intensely on the counter.

            What was he doing here? This is not happening. He is not blushing like a little school girl at the mere sight of him and he will most definitely not let him see how much he affects him. He is Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades and Maria Julietta Di Angelo, a man who is out and about, loud and proud, and he wasn’t going to let this boy see him blush.

            Percy came up to the counter and Nico was forced to look up to greet his customer.

            He was wearing slim cut blue jeans and a white topman v-neck with blue trim. There was stubble gracing his chin and running along his jaw. He looked like he just rolled out of bed. Or had wild sex. Either was equally possible with him.

            “Welcome to Popina Olympus. What can I do for you?”

            Percy smiled at him slowly and ran his eyes up and down his body, pausing on his neck which made him swallow self consciously. The green eyed boy-no, man, Nico thought-followed its movement. “What can you do for me?” He met his eye again and held it. “Will that offer still stand after I leave here?”

            Nico had never tried so hard not to laugh in all his life. His eyebrows were twitching with the effort to remain straight faced. With as much solemnity that he could muster, he said “Well, it depends.  Are you going to buy me dinner first?”

            Percy exploded into laughter and Nico was soon to follow. He looked over Percy’s shoulder and saw Jason standing by the doors looking smug as a bug in a rug, and he tried to sober up. The two dark haired boys continued to look at each other until Nico realized they probably looked sickening to the outside world right now and cleared his throat. “So, are you actually going to buy something or are you just going to try to pick me up with cheesy one liners all day?”

          “Well, I was going to go with the cheesy one-liners, but I suppose I could order a sandwich at the same time.”

            Nico rolled his eyes and looked at him bashfully. “What kind?”

            “Ah, roast beef and any cheese you have that’s yellow. Some mayonnaise and mustard would be awesome too.”

            Nico nodded and went to cut the meat and cheese. The whole while he couldn’t help but to feel self conscious with Percy watching him. And he was. Watching him, that is. Nico can feel his eyes raking over his skin and it was making him feel way too hot and bothered while making a sandwich.

            He had just put the condiments on and was putting the slices together when Percy told him to stop. Nico raised his eyebrow and hovered the two pieces close together over the counter, waiting for him to elaborate. “Yeah, Perce?” He smirked at him in an unbelievably smug way and Nico realized belatedly that he had called him Perce instead of Percy, a not even really pet name but familiar nonetheless. It was a difficult feat not to blush.

            “Can I have sprinkles with that?”

            That made Nico forget all about his embarrassment, his expression changing from stifled discomfort to bemused curiosity. Maybe he had heard wrong. “I’m sorry, did you say sprinkles?”

            Percy nodded enthusiastically and gave him a shit eating grin, looking for all the world like Nico just asked the most amusing and unnecessary question he could possibly have thought of. “Yes, blue, if you have them. And you should, Jason usually keeps a stock of them around for me.”

            Nico stared at him for a beat longer and then nodded slowly. “Right.” He rooted around the cabinets near him until he found a shelf full of sprinkles of all different varieties of colors, shapes, sizes and flavors. He looked at the collection with wry amusement and took a small bottle of blue, heart shaped sprinkles and shook them onto the sandwich. He wrapped the decked out sandwich in wax paper and handed it to Percy, asking for three dollars in exchange.

            After he handed him his sandwich, Nico expected him to give him a cheesy and probably overly sappy goodbye and leave him to finish his work in peace, but of course, Percy is full of surprises. He winked at the dark eyed boy and took his sandwich to one of the closest tables, plopping down and facing the counter, and proceeded to eat his sandwich and watch Nico work.

            It was a little disconcerting to say the least, but it was also strangely…nice. And he was only a little bit ashamed that he made a show out of his duty of cleaning the counters and floors, swaying his hips to invisible music and bending over at every opportunity to show off his ass.

            When he was done, he looked up at the clock. Two more minutes until four o’ clock. Percy was done with his sandwich and was just sitting there staring at him with this intense half-lidded gaze, darkening his green eyes until they were murky like the bottom of a lake, dark and seductive.

            One minute until four o’ clock.

            Nico licked his lips slowly and met Percy’s eyes from across the room, deciding he had nothing better to do until the end of his shift but not wanting it to end early, because that would mean having to get out from behind the counter. And getting out from behind the counter means having to face Percy and trying to walk out of the bistro without garnering his attention, which is pretty impossible considering that he had been done with his sandwich for the last five minutes and was perfectly content to sit there and watch Nico not work instead of getting up and leaving like he should be. Oh no, he was not going to take on that dreaded challenge any earlier than he had to, because he was not ready to become a stuttering, blushing school-girl just because one cute-okay, hot, smoking hot and sexy-boy-he was a man though, really-was talking to him. Nope, that was not in Nico’s plans for the night.

            And, oh, look at the time. Four o’ clock already. Shit.

            Nico stood there a second longer, looking between Percy and the clock. Percy glanced up at the clock as well and then back at Nico, tapping his two forefingers against his bare wrist. Nico rolled his eyes at the boy’s impatience and swiped his card to clock out. Jason came out of the back when Nico called out to him that he was leaving, telling him to have a good night and waving at Percy, not surprised at all with his presence.

            He grabbed his things from beneath the counter, tucking his wallet into his back pocket and shoving his cell phone in the front, and made a beeline for the door, not moving fast enough to be obvious but fast enough to get him where he needs to go. Coincidentally, or not so coincidently, after all, accidents just don’t happen accidently; his path took him in the opposite direction of the table where Percy was sitting at.

            Predictably, Percy shot out of his chair and strode over to intercept him at the door, effectively blocking his way out. “So, what are we doing?”  
            Nico tried half-heartedly to dart around him, but Percy just moved with him, not letting up even an inch. Finally, Nico tried to shoot underneath his extended arm, but Percy collapsed on top of him, locking him under his arm with Percy’s head on his back and his chest pressed flushed against his crotch.

            Out of embarrassment, Nico tried wriggling away but Percy held onto him fast, chuckling lowly and enjoying the feeling of Nico wrapped in his arms. When he decided that he had learned his lesson of trying to escape from him, he started to pull his arms away.

            That was until the tips of his fingers accidently brushed lightly over his sides and Nico let out a childish giggle that was the most endearing thing Percy had ever heard in his life. As soon as it left his mouth, Nico made a horrified face and clasped his hands over his mouth, jerking to get out of Percy’s grip. But now Percy was determined to hear that laugh again, and if there is one thing to be said, Percy Jackson gets what he wants.

            With renewed vigor Percy latched his arms back around Nico and gave him a curious brush of his fingers over his left side. The dark eyed boy let out a sharp laugh that he tried to cover up with a cough, letting out an indignant “Percy!”

            Nico just knew that Percy wasn’t going to let him away easy this time, and he was proven right when he started ruthlessly rubbing his fingertips all over his torso and sides, furious giggles and little chocking noises escaping from Nico’s mouth. Percy kept at it for almost a whole minute, ignoring the curious looks from other customers of the bistro and focusing on the adorably grumpy boy in his arms who was trying to scowl despite laughing so hard he had tears pooling in his eyes.

            When Nico was laughing so hard that no sound came out, the action just sending earth shattering quakes throughout his body, little mewling, wounded kitten sounds occasionally spilling from his wide grin, only then did Percy stop tickling him. He held onto the younger boy as his body slowly stopped shaking and recovered from the unexpected assault.

            This time when Nico hesitantly pulled away from Percy’s arms, he let him. He counted it a victory that the boy chose to stay close to him after he was fully freed from his grasp.

            They stared at each other with small smiles, both shy after the intimate way they acted when they barely knew each other yet. Percy was the first to speak, clearing his throat and glancing down at Nico’s lips-an action that Nico did not miss. “Well?”

            Nico was staring at Percy’s lips, watching them form that simple word and turning it into an exotic dance. He didn’t even realize the movements of his lips were meant for him to interpret until he looked up into Percy’s eyes, so near to his own, and saw the quizzical slant of his brow. “Oh, what?”

            Percy took a moment to look fondly amused at Nico’s sputtering before sending him a winning smile. “I asked what we’re doing.”

            “What do you mean, ‘what we’re doing’?”

            “We’re doing something obviously. I just waited for you to get off work, so what is it going to be?”

            Nico realized suddenly that Percy had not showed up to just stare at him while he finished his shift. He felt stupid that he hadn’t anticipated this the moment he walked through the door, though in his defense, he wasn’t exactly used to people, let alone hot and popular ones, coming up to him and wanting to socialize on purpose without it being a dare.

            It was now or never.

            He decided he would turn that never into later and used Percy’s distraction with a flutter of movement over his shoulder to walk briskly through the door and head to his dorm, thankful that it was close. But, of course, Percy followed him, that determined little shit. He tried not to think too much about it when Percy fell into step with him.

            “Oh, I’m glad you decided so fast, I was afraid it was going to take a while to decide. So, where are we going?” Nico rolled his eyes at the boy and picked up his pace, rounding the corner of his building and pushing past the doors. “I’m going to my dorm room.”

            They started up the stairs, Nico first but Percy following close behind. “Why, Nico. I didn’t realize you would be so forward. And here I thought you wanted me to buy you dinner first?”

            Nico scoffed as they reached the door to his room and fished his key out of the bag, shouldering his way inside and trying to close the door promptly after him. Percy’s foot caught in the doorway, preventing it from closing fully and Nico glared at down at it. “I said I’m going to my room, not you, dork.”

            Percy was not taking no for an answer apparently, and with barley any effort at all, he had pushed the door open with his shoulder and came through the door. Of course, that also meant sending Nico flying back from his perch by the door and down toward the floor. Percy lurched to the floor and grabbed him by the waist, their foreheads coming to rest against each other.

            Nico blushed when Percy held him in that dip before swinging him back up and resting his hands on his waist. “We keep getting into these situations, don’t we?”

            Nico backed away and ran his hands nervously through his hair, not sure how he was going to get the stubborn boy out of his room now that he was in. He placed himself by the desk and swallowed some liquid courage in the form of plain air and stood his ground. “Percy. Please leave, I’m busy.”

            The green eyed boy held his gaze for a long while, seemingly sizing him up, and then nodded, deciding he was being serious. “Okay, Neeks.” He made his way to the door and leaned against it, one hand resting lightly on the doorknob. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around later, then. You can’t hide from me forever.”

            A wink and a little wave later and he was gone, closing the door behind him. Nico fell back onto the bed and sighed deeply.

            He couldn’t believe he was actually considering letting this boy in, but he knew he had to be careful or else that boy was going to become his whole life, leaving him with nothing to call his own once he inevitably left him. The question was, is it worth it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The green light Nico refers to, besides being the glowing letters of his alarm clock, are a hats off to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby where the green light Gatsby sees from the end of his dock symbolizes that all of his hopes and dreams are so close but just out of reach.  
> If you have ever wondered, here is the correct way to spell hors d’oeuvres (appetizer)! I still couldn't spell it to save my life.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	8. Monday, August 25th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am going to be going on a short vacation so the update for next week might be a little late :( but I will try my best to find the time to update. In the mean time, enjoy this chapter full of Nico becoming confident only to have his hopes dashed, oh my!

            Nico had just bought a coffee-it was a French vanilla latte kind of day-from his new job at the Bistro after his English class, and now he was heading over to Study Hall. He had no idea what to expect really, since the orientation day including doing a grand total of shit. Just going from the name, he supposed it was a class meant for students to work on school stuff or something like that, but with it being so early in the year, he had nothing to bring to work on. Seriously, was Study Hall even still a thing? Instead, he brought a trusty book along, hoping to ignore the very presence of anyone else.

            He walked through the doors of the building, shaking his head at the ridiculous Centaur fountain. The lecture hall was already quite full and he used its density and his own inherited shortness to try to hide from the familiar figures sitting near the front of the room. Unfortunately, as soon as he had opened the doors, Grover’s head whipped in his direction, almost like he was waiting for him to come through.

            “Nico!” He yelled. “Over here, man!” Nico groaned internally, or perhaps he did it audibly considering the amused look the nearest girl sent him. He decided on a quick plan of action that was fool-hardy and impossible to foil.

            He pretended the ignore him and did a complete one-eighty to sit at a section of chairs at the very back of the room, right behind a bunch of nice and tall boys in letterman jackets.

            Perhaps it wasn’t such a great plan to begin with, or maybe Grover was just more stubborn than he was giving him credit for, but either way within seconds of Nico pulling his backpack onto the desk Grover was at his side and putting a friendly hand on his shoulder which he promptly glared at until it fell away.

            “Hey, Nico. We’re all sitting up front, how ‘bout you join us?” The curly haired boy looked so open and sincere, waiting for Nico to answer with innocent eyes and a pleading face that he was sure he would feel worse than a thirty year old stealing a baby’s candy if he refused.

            He sighed deeply and gathered his things up again. “Alright. Let’s go.” He followed his roommate to the front of the room, keeping his eyes downcast to avoid a certain green-eyed Adonis. Grover slumped back down into his seat and threw an arm around Juniper’s shoulders, the only open seat across from Percy. Well. At least it wasn’t right beside him.

            The whole table greeted him in overly friendly, painfully familiar tones, Jason clapping him on the back and Annabeth sending him a smug smile. Why was she always looking at him like that? He arched an eyebrow at her but nodded anyway, giving everyone a thin lipped smile until his eyes came to rest on Percy.

             “Hey, Percy.” The boy was grinning at him, all easy wrinkles around his eyes and slack jawed like Nico did something that surprised him. Now that he thought about it, nodding at everyone else but speaking to him was rather condemning.

            He felt the tips of his ears redden and decided that there was no way he was going to endure an entire hour and a half stumbling awkwardly over his words and blushing crimson every time Percy so much as glanced at him. Nope. He tugged out his book and promptly buried his nose in it, content to try to pretend to read until he was released from hell. Er, the class.

            Conversation was picking up around him, causing him to sigh in relief. He was left alone for a total of five minutes in which he read the same page over twice without actually comprehending a word of it before he felt tapping on the edge of his book. His eyes flitted up over the top of his book to see a pencil poking at his pages, held by a large hand with elegant, long fingers and attached to a strong arm with a trident tattoo painted across its tanned skin.     Percy was smiling at him innocently, retreating with the pencil now that he had his attention. He was tempted to just go back to his book but he had a feeling that if he ignored him, he would just go back to poking him with the pencil repeatedly until he got his attention again.  He lowered the book a few inches until Percy could see his face fully from behind it but not putting it away. “What?”

            He fiddled with the pencil in his hand and just kept smiling at him, looking away slightly. For a long while Nico didn’t think he actually had anything to say, but then when he was just about to go back to pretending to read, he spoke in a peppy voice like the awkward pause that just occurred hadn’t happened at all. “What are you reading?”

            That threw Nico off, not being anywhere close to the possibilities he thought Percy could say. He was slightly confused, so all he did was hold the cover up for him to read. The green eyed boy narrowed his eyes in concentration as if he had to really focus to read the title correctly.

            “Ah. ‘If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek’?”

            Nico’s eyebrows shot into his hairline, surprise showing in the sudden relaxation of all of his face muscles previously tensed in nervousness. “You’ve read Stevenson?” Percy looked amused and nodded at him shyly.

            “I do like to read, you know. And it’s a classic. I just have trouble with it, being dyslexic and all that.” That also surprised Nico, and he lowered his book completely to stare at Percy in something akin to affection and disbelieving curiosity, though he would never admit it. “Uh, you’re dyslexic, too?”

            Percy threw him a cocky half-smile and scooted a little closer to the table. “Yeah, so you’re dyslexic? Looks like we have more in common than you think.” At the flirty wink sent his way, Nico colored and raised his book back until he could just barely see Percy over it. He snorted in what he hoped was a grumpy grunt and not an embarrassed wheeze. “Huh, yeah, sure. Dyslexia isn’t that rare, I’m sure we are as different as could be.”

            At that acidic remark, he thought the older boy would take the hint and leave him alone before he did something embarrassing, like tilting his head to the side with by his hair, slotting their lips together, and commandeering that sinful mouth with his tongue. *cough, cough*

            He stared at those plush rose buds brushing together and slowly licked his lips, wanting to know if they tasted like what he had for breakfast, or perhaps his toothpaste. Was it minty fresh? Peppermint? Or one of those weird flavors they have now, like apricot or chocolate? Nico shuddered at that last thought, hoping he didn’t have chocolate toothpaste, because that would have to change, and then mentally slapping himself for thinking that he had the right to ask Percy to change his figurative toothpaste as if he was going to be a constant figure in his life.

            “-co? Nico! Yoo-hoo, anyone in there?” Percy was waving his hand in front of his face and smirking at his dazed and confused glare as he swiped the other boys hand away from his face. His face scrunched up in mock annoyance. “What?”

            “You spaced out there for a minute. I was asking what some of the other books you like are. Because I bet we have more in common.”

            Nico glanced down at the book in his hands and thought about it. On one hand, Percy might not like his choice in books and they will have nothing in common, but on the other hand, Percy read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so there was a good chance that they would have similar book taste. He never thought Percy would be into books, especially not intellectual books written in the nineteenth century, so this was a pleasant surprise.

            Although Nico really hadn’t dated anyone other than Alex, he had a distinctive type. At least according to Bianca he did. Tall, dark and handsome, with a wild side. Usually his preference for danger and ‘the extreme’ leaves much to be desired in the intellectual aspect of a relationship…which is why he was never really one for relationships, that and how a relationship usually takes someone liking Nico back. The only reason him and Alex worked was because everything he did was an illusion or play-act to string him along. The idea that Percy was tall, definitely had a dark and wild side, and had brains in that head of his to counter all that kelp, was enough to leave Nico panting for more.

            He cleared his throat and decided to start with his most embarrassing favorite books, that way if Percy laughed he didn’t have to keep talking like a fool and just leave before he embarrassed himself even more. “Well, I like a lot of books around Stevenson’s time, like Oscar Wilde, uhm…the Brontë sisters a-and, uh, Austen.”

            He was expecting Percy’s face to turn red with barely contained laughter that would burst out of him despite his best efforts in loud and obnoxious bellows, soon attracting the attention of the entire room and telling them between bitten off attempts at controlling his giggles that Nico liked to read nineteenth century romance novels, ending with everyone crying their amusement until he was swept away by their traitorous tears and drowned himself in their indignation.

            Percy’s face did turn red, but it was more a rosy tint covering his cheekbones than anything, and his mouth was hanging slack, eyelids dropping in a slow blink. “Austen?”

            Nico swallowed and looked him in the eyes defiantly. “Yeah.”

            The green eyed boy smiled his usual cocky grin and scooted impossibly closer to him, practically folding himself in half over the table. “Really? Pride & Prejudice was the first book I ever read of hers. It took me a couple months to finish, what with trying to find time and then my dyslexia choosing to riot against me, but it’s still one of my favorites of hers. But I thought Emma and Mansfield Park were pretty good too. Not gonna lie, though, sense and sensibility was a little hard for me to get into.”

            Nico stared at the boy in front him in utter disbelief, unashamedly staring at him awe. He swallowed a few times and tried to clear his throat but it seemed he was completely choked up. Gods, could this boy get any more perfect? If Nico finds out that he can dance and sing too, he might just die and go to Elysium.

            He realized that Percy was still smiling at him, waiting for his reply, and quickly closed his mouth and nodded dumbly. After probably too many shakes of his head, Percy reached out tapped under his chin to make him stop, which only made Nico blush more. “I…I couldn’t agree with you more, actually. Pride & Prejudice is one of my all time favorite books, as cheesy and ridiculous as that sounds.”

            Percy laughed and shook his head, telling him that was ridiculous that he thought that was ridiculous. “So, what else do you like?”

            Feeling more confident now, Nico smiled and played with the pages of his book. “Well, as much as I love older books, and I really do, Stephen King is my favorite author.”

            “Yeah? I’ve read some of his books, but just a few of the most popular ones. Um, I’ve read IT, Pet Cemetery and The Shining.”

            “Those are really good ones. But I think they all are. If you like his books, you should definitely read Misery, they actually made a really good movie out of it with Kathy Bates, and Desperation. Although the movie adaptation of Desperation was nowhere as good. But they’re two of my favorite King books.”

            Percy was giving him an odd look, but he nodded at him slowly and reached over across the table to brush the back of his hand with his fingertips. Nico held his breath and tried not to flinch, stuck between moving his hand away and grabbing his hand to create more contact. Instead he stayed perfectly still, breathing shallowly and staring down at their barely connected hands. He looked up and locked eyes with Percy, taking in a shuddering breath at the almost-dare he say it-loving look in his sea green eyes. “I’ll have to remember that.”

            They continued to stare at each other unblinkingly, refusing to look away unless it was to trace the movement of a pink tongue moving slowly over flush lips, unknowingly moving ever closer to the other, breathing heavily. Until Hazel’s loud and cheerful laugh pulled them sharply out of their trance, both of them jumping backwards and looking around to see if anyone noticed their intimacy.

            No one had. Percy’s friends, or were they Nico’s now too, were still laughing and talking amongst themselves, but it still had an effect on the two boys, still leaning familiarly close to each other.

            Nico and Percy laughed nervously and glanced away from each other. Nico wanted nothing more than to burrow back into his book to hide his traitorously red face but oddly enough he caught Percy’s eyes again and held them, refusing to look away this time. Talking with Percy was actually nice, and he rather wanted to continue to do so.

            “So what the actual fuck is this class for anyway?”

            Percy snorted and hunched his shoulders in the universal sign for ‘I dunno’ and exclaimed “No idea!” in a ridiculously cheery voice.

           A crinkled can of grape soda came hurdling from the front of the lecture hall to collide with Percy’s shoulder. “I heard that!” Mr. D grunted, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading. Percy was rubbing indignantly at his shoulder and scowling at man dressed in yet another horrendous Hawaiian print shirt. “Ow. Child abuse, sir.”

            Mr. D actually laughed out loud at that, all obnoxious bellows and wet wheezes. “You’re a child all right. Go ahead, kid. Report me!” He then went on to mutter about how he didn’t want to be here anyway and it finally made sense to Nico why he was even here at all when he so obviously hated people.

            Percy screwed his face up at him one last time, with his tongue sticking out and in full on toddler mode, which only succeeded in making him look constipated. Adorable but constipated nonetheless. He rolled his gorgeous green eyes and turned to look back at Nico, “But, seriously, I have no idea why we’re here. I just know that it’s something that SOCU has always done because the main honchos feel like it would be a good idea to have ‘bonding time’ and ‘study time’. They admit all kinds of kids here, all for different reasons, so that’s why they are so concerned with grades around here, because they actually want you to succeed. It’s kind of nice, y’know? Having time to chill, get shit done.”

            Nico, although admittedly watching the buds of Percy’s lips glance together more than listening to the words he was producing, nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m not complaining. I just expected it to be…different.”

            He pulled his eyes away from Percy’s lips and stared hard at the grit of the wood table, knowing he need to focus if he was going to go through with this conversation. “I thought the same thing, when I first got here. Because of the movies and stuff my mom told me about what college was like I was completely confused when I started here as a freshman. It was almost as if nothing had changed from when I went to high school at Goode, except the classes were more challenging and I had a lot more freedom.”

            The book was completely set aside now, his conversation with Percy holding Nico’s full attention. “Why is it so different? I mean not different?” He furrowed his brows confused but Percy just chuckled and reached out to smooth the wrinkles formed on the bridge of his nose with his thumb.

            “They say, and by ‘they’ I mean the brochures and website and all that jazz, it’s because they truly care about their students and want us to have a smooth transition into the ‘real world’. Study Hall to gives us time to catch up, block scheduling to keep us in routine, like we had in high school and how it might be in the ‘adult’ world. It’s different because the founders wanted it to be relatable and easy and well…different? And…stuff? I don’t know, shit’s confusing. You…know what I mean?”

            Wow. That was almost eloquent, but then he had to Percy it up. There was something stupidly endearing about the way he managed to be such a kelp-head. “Mhm. And ‘stuff’.” Teasing him felt nice, and he especially liked the way he was the one blushing lightly at his words this time around. Percy tilted his chin up defiantly. “Yeah. Stuff.”

            Nico laughed and hesitantly pushed at Percy’s shoulder. The older boy seemed surprised at first by the gesture, looking down at the place where Nico’s fingertips brushed the fabric of his shirt. Then he smiled slowly and laughed with him.

            “So, why are you taking Greek, Percy?”

            The green eyed boy pulled Nico’s book toward his chest and drummed his fingers on it. “The school is pretty much a hard ass on everyone taking an elective of some sort each school year, as well as at last one foreign language. I managed to get away with it for three years what with my charming charisma and dashing good looks.” At that, he waggled his eyebrows at Nico overzealously. “But, alas, this year they took that choice away from me and forced me to pick something. So, I decided that it was either Greek, something I am actually interested in, or…Spanish.” He actually gave a full body shiver at that.

            Nico rolled his eyes and pulled his book out from under Percy’s tapping fingers, quietly smoothing down the cover. “Spanish isn’t that bad. In fact Spanish and Italian share a lot of the same roots, and Italian is a beautiful language.”

            His fingers continued to run over the book in gentle caresses, drawing aimless designs on it. Percy was watching them with interest, a fact that Nico did not miss. “I would love to hear you speak Italian sometime.” Nico looked up sharply at that, narrowing his eyes at the older boy. He was expecting a leer, perhaps a seductive smirk or a mischievous glint full of innuendo, but instead Percy’s eyes were completely sincere, gleaming with honest curiosity.

            Although he was surprised at the honesty shining in his depths, he didn’t respond, not knowing how. Instead he glanced shyly away and thought about what else he was probably thinking of in the wrong way about this new school. He took a deep breath, looked back at him. Swallowed. And changed the subject. “So, why do you still live on campus?”

            “It’s required; I thought you would know that. Same reasons really as everything else they do different here, to keep everybody close-knit and focused.” Percy replied almost absentmindedly, like he was only answering to humor him, before reaching across the table to stroke Nico’s wrist. “So, what do you say? Maybe you could teach me some Italian sometime. Then we could have secret conversations and stuff, huh?”

            Nico felt his heart rate pick up at the contact at his wrist, immensely grateful that the gorgeous boy wasn’t brushing he skin on the underside of the wrist where his thoughts on exactly what the skin-to-skin action was doing to him would be given away in an instant. He blinked at him owlishly and subconsciously leaned back into his personal space. “You’re an idiot.”

            Percy smiled at him wolfishly and nodded his head enthusiastically, agreeing with him. That made Nico smile, and this time he didn’t try to hide it.

            Percy was still brushing the back of Nico’s hand with his fingertips the whole while.

* * *

 

            Mr. D finally got tired of hearing everybody breathing so he yelled at them to get out of his sight before their chattiness forced him to commit mass murder and drink himself into a stupor. Nico was pretty sure that he was already drunk judging by his blotchy skin and blood shot eyes but hey, who was he to judge?

            Nico walked outside with Percy, a stupid grin plastered on his face that refused to go away. They made it out of the doors, Nico shielding his eyes from the sun with his book, and stood there awkwardly looking between Percy and the way to his dorm, unsure how he should say goodbye or if it was even necessary.

            Percy solved his dilemma by clapping him on the shoulder and giving him his most charming smile. “Neeks-” Nico quickly snapped at him not to call him that, but it was half hearted at best and Percy just plowed on through like he never spoke, “come and eat lunch with me.” As if he was expecting the nervous and hesitant tilt of Nico’s brows to surface, he stuck out his bottom lip and did his best impression of a heartbroken, kicked puppy dog, begging for attention and to be loved. “Pwetty pwease, Nico?”

            Now how was he supposed to say no to that? He was always able to resist Bianca’s puppy dog eyes because he knew her to be truly evil underneath that innocent plea, and even Hazel’ unbelievably heart wrenching sad face because of practice, but Percy’s puppy dog eyes? His big green eyes filling with tears, threatening to spill over in his grief, his lip quivering with exertion, his whole face contorted into the face of a newly widowed spouse that just lost her husband, children and goldfish all on the same day? There was no way he was going to be able to resist that face. Ever.

            So he sucked up his courage and gave that gorgeous boy a shy smile and a small tilt of his head; fangirling on the inside, calm, cool and collected on the outside. Percy’s smiled widened until his whole face looked like it would just split right down the middle. He grabbed Nico by the arm, in a very gentlemanly fashion, and started to escort him in the opposite direction of his dorm room, chatting happily about how amazing this place’s burgers were.

            For once, Nico almost felt confident with this bumbling idiot beside him. He could do this. Totally. Fo sho. No effing way was he going to mess this opportunity up. He was going to live his life, seduce this gorgeous boy, and have a great time doing it until he found out that he was just a big ball of insecurity dipped in cellulite. Damn straight, he was.

           That was until he heard a high-pitched screech yelling “Percy!” and someone push their way in between them, causing Percy’s hand to slide off of his shoulder and widening the gap between them until it could fit a petite blond girl with a Yankees cap on. Annabeth. Of course.

            “Hey guys! I heard you talking about lunch. I’m starving! Mind if I join?” she looked over at Nico with stormy eyes and cocked an eyebrow at him in challenge, just daring him to say no. Percy was smiling but it wasn’t as wide before, glancing back and forth between them with concern.

            So he did what he had to. He forced the biggest smile on his face he could muster and tried to exude anything but pure anger. “Sure! Percy was just telling me about the burgers this place has.”

            Percy visibly relaxed at his words and sighed in relief. He looked at him gratefully but a bit obliviously and continued to talk about the place they were going. Nico was sure he didn’t fully realize how disappointed Nico was or that Annabeth inviting herself on their not-a-date was a bad thing. So he just pretended nothing was wrong and went along with it, but only because kelp head looked so pleased about them ‘getting along’.

            The restaurant Percy brought them to was on the other side of campus, an all American joint ran by students. Their menu was based off of historical attractions in the U.S.; Coney Island coney dog, Mount Rushmore reuben, White House waffles. Percy and Annabeth had obviously been there before; obvious from the warm greeting they got from several of the staff and how they were immediately ushered to a table near the windows.

            Nico paused behind them to get a look at the place and when he turned to follow them over, their hostess, a pretty blond girl that he thought he might have recognized if he cared to look at her longer, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and glanced curiously between Nico and the pair already seating themselves. He realized then that the couple probably came here often and did not usually bring company along. Awkward quickly became uncomfortable.

            He seated himself gracelessly at the table meant for two people, noisily dragging a third chair over from the table next to them and plucking delicately at the napkins on the table. He did not reach for a menu because the blond only put two down before she realized Nico would be joining the golden couple, hastily excusing herself to get another. She must have gotten distracted by all the whispery gossip being thrown around the front counter because she never came back with it.

            Annabeth slid her menu over to him, giving him a winning smile that he couldn’t decide whether was genuine or not. “Here, use this one. Seaweed Brain and I know it by heart.” That simple statement was worse than her smile, leaving Nico wondering if she was being smug about how close she was with Percy or if she was that genuinely confident that she didn’t see him as a threat. She might also be being genuine without any secret or hidden second meanings, but Nico was loathe to consider that option.

            Glancing over at Percy and seeing that stupid pleased grin on his face made Nico feel just a tiny bit more relaxed, even though the tension still coiling in his muscles was enough to have his back twitching with the effort to stay sitting ramrod straight. But he was relaxed enough to give Annabeth a nod of his head, not quite accompanied by a smile, and opened the menu to scan the contents. He had barely begun to read through the menu when their overly eager waitress came barreling over, all animated smiles and bubbly attitude. Her enthusiasm burned Nico’s eyes.

            “Hey, Percy! Annabeth! It’s nice to see you back here, we missed you. Gods, how long has it been? At least since the end of last semester. Drew isn’t even working here anymore, did you know that? Although personally, that’s a relief, to me and to the rest of the staff. I mean, I have never met a person so self-absorbed and annoy-oh! Who’s this?” She placed her hand on her cocked hip and gave Nico a thousand watt smile that could have easily out-shown a lighthouse, her face etched in pleasant surprise like she had just seen Nico sitting there. Which he seriously doubted.

            Annabeth put one slim hand on Nico’s forearm and addressed the young girl who was still staring at Nico like he was supposed to be saying something, which he had no intention of doing, hopefully for the rest of this terrible lunch excursion. “This is Nico Di Angelo, a freshman this year. You know Hazel, right? He’s her half-brother, here from California.”

            The blond squealed with delight and her hand replaced Annabeth’s on his arm. He cringed in discomfort but she didn’t seem to notice or to care, she just kept squeezing and pushing herself into Nico’s personal bubble. “California? Way cool! I’ve always wanted to go there. I mean, the beach? I’d totally live there if I could, but I don’t think I could leave New York, you know? The shopping is too amazing to even think about-”

            “Kate!” Percy snapped at the chattering girl, waving his hand in front of her face to get her attention. She stopped talking immediately and looked annoyed for two seconds before registered that it was Percy that had spoken. “Yeah, handsome?”

            “I was just wondering if we could maybe get some drinks and order while we talk, or catch up later. Sorry doll, but you know we’ll just end up talking all day if we don’t.” Percy’s I-know-I’m-charming-now-drop-your-panties smile stretched across his face and the waitress, Kate apparently, melted into a pile of goo on the floor. Nico was pretty sure she actually might have swooned.

            “Sure, Hun.” She whipped out a small handheld notepad and a pink pen with feathers on the end. “So, what can I get for you guys?”

            Annabeth tapped her hand down on the table like a judge with his gavel, wobbling it slightly. “Perce, what’ll it be?”

            Percy smiled at Kate and handed her his menu and then winked at Annabeth. “I want some dam fries and a dam burger. What about you?” Annabeth rolled her eyes and called him a nerd, but soon enough they were both doubling over with laughter. Even Kate joined them like it was a long running joke. Annabeth, between squawks of amusement, snorted, “Make that two big dam burgers!”

            Nico, on the other hand, was not privy to what was so amusing. He couldn’t understand why they were cracking up over such a silly use of a cuss word and in his desperation to see what they could possibly find amusing, opened the menu and looked for anything concerning ‘damn’ or perhaps even ‘dam’ since their food was based off of national landmarks. While they were still trying to remember how to breathe, Nico finally found a burger on the menu that was indeed called a dam burger, based off of the Hoover Dam.

            He closed the menu feeling sheepish that he hadn’t thought of that in the first place and waited for his ‘friends’ to calm down enough to proceed with lunch, although that looked like a snowballs’ chance in hell of happening considering Percy guffawed out “And maybe a dam milkshake!” Meanwhile he told Kate he wanted the Hollywood Hoagie and she went to go get their drinks.

            They recovered enough to tell him through fragmented sentences and bitten off giggles about how Percy went on a trip cross country with Grover, Thalia, and some other girl named Zoë in order to meet her in San Francisco where she was staying with her dad. They managed through telling him about the trio’s  experience with the food they offered at the Hoover Dam and it just made it even better when they found this restaurant that sold dam food-break for more slightly annoying giggling-and how it was an inside joke ever since.

            After the story, Nico felt more left out and distant than he ever had before. He hated when people tried to explain inside jokes. It just was never as funny out loud and if you weren’t there the first time.

            Kate brought their drinks and left after hip-checking a very uncomfortable Nico in the shoulder and shooting a flirty wink at Percy. He was immensely grateful for the distraction that the drink brought and wasted no time in wasting time to slowly peel the paper off of his straw and place it in the drink, trying to find the answers to the universe in the condensation developing on the outside of the glass.

            Alas, there was only so much time he could spend looking at glass before it became weird, so after about five minutes of refusing to tear his eyes away from the red tint, which was honestly three minutes too long, Nico determinately cleared his throat and addressed Annabeth. “So, uh, what are you studying?”

            Her grey eyes lit up like lightening was crackling in their storms. “Architecture! With a minor in Interior Design. I want to design and build something permanent and lasting, you know?” Admittedly that was not what Nico was expecting, although he wasn’t really sure what he was expecting.

            “That’s…really cool, actually.” He didn’t know what else to say. He got it. That’s why he was so into writing, because he wanted to create something lasting and leave an impression of himself on the world even after he’s long gone.

            “Yeah. More of the world needs to know who I am, you know? I have so many ideas.” That’s when she lost him. Nico wanted to change the world and make a difference with the power of the mighty pen but he had no desire to make his presence or his name anymore known than it already was. He didn’t want to be in the spotlight or have any additional attention; he just wanted to be himself and maybe write a few untold stories while he was at it. He was even considering using a penname if he ever had the opportunity to be published.

            But he didn’t mention any of that, he just nodded and went back to tracing patterns into the condensation collecting on his glass. Percy’s hand slides closer to his on the table, his fingertips brushing his own, that simple motion causing him to look up sharply at him. Their eyes met and there it is, like an electric connection pulling them together, a physical string tying them together and tugging at their bodies, pulling them closer. Nico didn’t even realize that he was moving, or that Percy was, until Annabeth clinked her glass louder than necessary on the table, causing them to flinch back from each other.

            Nico blushed and tried not to look at Percy but utterly failed, not breaking their eye contact even when Percy’s hand slid back to the other side of the table, breaking their physical connection. Annabeth didn’t mention the silent conversation that just passed if she noticed it, which Nico was sure she did.

            “So, Nico. Tell me about your family.”

            That threw him off a little. So this is what lunch was going to be like? An interrogation? To what end? To see if he was good enough to be with Percy or if he was worth her effort to see him as a threat? Well, shit. If it was going to be like this, then he might as well give her a show.

            “My mother’s name was Maria Di Angelo and she grew up in Venice. My father, Hades Πλούτος, pronounced Ploo-toes, meaning wealth in Greek, is a Greek American citizen. He went to Italy on a business trip and met my mother, who was working as a bartender in the hotel he was staying at. They fell in love and when he left for America, she went with him. They married and when she became pregnant with my sister, Bianca, she wanted to go back to Italy to be with family. She had Bia there and my father visited frequently, still busy doing business in America. Four years later they had me. We lived in Italy until I was ten years old. There was an earthquake and she sent me and Bianca out of the building but she went back to see if everyone made it out, but the roof collapsed and she…she didn’t make it.”

            Nico paused in his story, staring unfocused at the table, already hearing the apology in the intake of Annabeth’s breath and the whisperer of Percy shifting in his seat. He held up his hand to stop them before they could voice their condolences. “It was a long time ago, its fine. Anyway, when she passed, my father took me and Bianca with him over to the states, no longer really on good terms with my mother’s side of the family. Mostly because that’s when we first met Hazel, who was born only a year before I was, when he and mama were fighting. They were obviously not too happy about that revelation, especially in the wake of their daughter’s death.”

            He let out a humorless laugh, remembering how confused he was when he introduced Hazel as their sister, and how quickly he had to grow up from then on out. “Hazel stayed with her mother in New Orleans mostly, but my father chose to move us around a lot. We went wherever his business went; it was almost like we were military brats. But we got to see her enough, and I didn’t blame her for my father’s choice to cheat on my mother, but that didn’t mean I looked for reasons to be near _her_ mother.”

            Percy spoke up then, barely speaking over a whisper, like he was afraid to break the spell Nico was weaving with his words. “Hazel has told me a little bit about her mother. She told me she was considered a witch down in Louisiana, with a temper and personality to match. I don’t blame you.” He had to laugh at that, relieved Percy tried to break the tension at the table, even just a little. “Yeah, she might have been a bit mad, but there must have been something that attracted my father, and I know she loved Hazel.”

            Annabeth put her two cents in then. “Yeah. She died a few years back, right? Something about a cave in?” Nico nodded and took a sip of his drink. “Uh huh. They were on vacation in Alaska; Gods know why they chose Alaska. They were exploring a cave and it just wasn’t…steady enough I guess and it just caved in. Hazel barely made it out herself. After, she came to live with us in California, we were in Los Angeles by then, and have been ever sense. But she didn’t stay long, she came here to New York and you guys know everything else.”

            Kate came with their food then, placing Nico’s monster sandwich down in front of him. They ate in silence for a while, choosing to pay attention to their food instead of each other. After several minutes, Annabeth swallowed down her bite of burger and washed it down with a drink of water. “So, is it still just you, your dad and sister down in California? What made you decide to come here, to New York?”

            He swallowed his food as well. “My father married again three years ago, strong woman named Persefona, and is still in Los Angeles, but Bianca lives in Santa Monica now. She moved there about a year ago. I guess that was part of the reason I decided to come here. She was gone and I couldn’t stand to be there with just them, even though they were rarely there and Bia was only a half-hour away. There was also some…other reasons.” He trailed off when he realized what road he was going down, not wanting to go there yet, if ever. “Anyway, I also get to be closer to Hazel, so.”

            It was obvious that Annabeth had caught onto that he was hiding something and Percy didn’t look convinced either, but thankfully neither of them brought it up.

            Annabeth talked about her family a lot, though Nico admittedly didn’t pay attention too much attention to what she was saying. Humming and making affirmative noises every once in a while. The rest of lunch was filled with Annabeth doing most of the talking, with Percy keeping up the conversation with her and Nico barely stringing more than five words together at the same time. The topic never strayed from Annabeth’s life, Annabeth’s goals and dreams, Annabeth’s fears, blah blah blah. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interesting, or that she was even trying to make it all about herself. Nico was just too quiet to say anything about it and Percy just kept asking her questions so she continued on.

            Finally when their plates and glasses were empty and Annabeth was running out of steam, they paid, or rather Percy paid, refusing to let neither Nico or Annabeth even leave the tip, and they all stood around the front doors. Annabeth stretched like she had just woken up and Percy was patting his belly with a self-satisfied grin on his face. Nico just stood there awkwardly, rubbing his forearm and resisting the urge to just up and run away.

            “Well!” Annabeth yelped. “This was fun; we should do this again sometime.” Percy agreed with her and gave her a familiar smirk when she slung her arm around his waist, like it was something they had been doing for years.  “I guess we’ll see you around Nico?”

            Before he even had a chance to reply, she was dragging Percy along with her to cross the street, leaving Nico standing there in front of the diner alone. Percy yelled his goodbyes over his shoulder and they were gone.

            That was possibly the most uncomfortable lunch he was ever put through, and he had been to formal dinners with his father and step-mother, dressed in monkey suits and forced to make small talk with big shot CEO’s and Firm operators. But at the same time…it was nice, in a way. He enjoyed the company even though it wasn’t how he thought the evening would go.

            The only thing was he had ten minutes to get to his Economics class and he had no idea where he was. Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is wonderful book and you should read it. 
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	9. Wednesday, August 27th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray for 100 kudos!
> 
> Please check the tags!!  
> Warnings for this chapter: There is mention of a food disorder, as well as abuse, so if that is going to bother you, please feel free to skip until later in the chapter. These themes will continue for throughout the story.

            It had been an exhausting day. Nico was trudging along dejectedly to his dorm after his Economics class finally ended, THIRTY MINUTES after it was supposed to. The Doctor decided it was his duty of the day to enlighten the class, or more specifically Rose, while the rest of the miserable bastards left in the room did an impressive job of becoming background decorations, on the importance of comprehending the basic fundamentals of theoretical time travel in the soon to be future, present, or past, depending on the dimension it would evolve from.

            Whatever the hell means, all Nico knows is that he was glad he checked out that extra book Calypso recommended, because as lost as he was now, he couldn’t imagine where he would be if he didn’t have it. He guesses that probability is stuck in another alternate dimension. Heh, get it? Nico also decided he needed to get out more.

            His very bones were aching with exhaustion, a methodical pulse of numbing pain, leaving him to move his limbs sluggishly with monumental effort and his tread to become a weary shadow of what walking should actually look like. He was fairly certain his body was tilted to the left in a comical slant, but he ran out of shits to give after the day he had.

            The past week he had been at SOCU, everything had been almost…easy. Although he was still horrified at the putrid colors the majority of the students on campus chose to wear and was assaulted by Ben, Brad, Brent, whatever the ginger’s name in his English was, every class period and sometimes when he catches him passing through the lobby of the dorm building, he still found himself rather…enjoying it.

            He had actually made friends, and within a week of being here no less, his roommate, though a total stoner and tree hugger was not a complete pain in the ass, he liked most of his classes, and there were places to get food around every corner. It seemed like college life was going to be easier than he thought. He was feeling good, confident, happy.

            And then it fucked him over. He was sure that this day was forged by the fates in the pits of Tartarus with all intents and purposes to kill him, slowly and with as much pain as possible.

            He was late getting up, extremely late, as in his eight o’clock English class was halfway through that day’s whole damn lesson plan by the time Nico managed to pry his eyes open.

            When Nico busted through the classroom doors, in his sister’s sweat pants he stole and wore to bed with the word ‘juicy’ written across his ass and one of his skull t-shirts that he had had since he was ten and thus left a good two inches of skin showing under the hem, Mrs. Dodds was viciously glaring at him for interrupting her mid-sentence and the class was already almost done with the lesson.

            He might as well have stayed at his dorm for all he got out of showing up for that class, but he was hopeful that maybe he would be there to catch _something_ at least. It turned out that ‘something’ he got for showing up was the near constant pestering of the ginger haired boy that chose to sit next to him because ‘he was fun to mess with’. And mess with him he did, the cretin. He was either talking his ear off, poking his sides, slipping him notes, or telling highly sexual jokes in order to ‘get a rise out of him’. And yes, that was one of them.

            When class ended, the little shit followed him all the way to his next class, doing his best to be the biggest pain in the ass possible, until Nico finally cut him off at the Centaur statue and told him in no uncertain terms to fuck off. Which he did, after near tackling him into a hug that set Nico’s teeth on edge.

            He refused to look where he knew his friends were sitting and sat in the darkest corner of the room, glaring at anyone who dared to come too close. Even Grover seemed to take the hint and retreated after only taking a few steps in his direction, the malice in Nico’s glare enough to make him flinch. That was probably the only good thing that came out of this whole fucking day; that nobody really messed with him after the whole Benji-what’s-his-face daily catastrophe. He took a nap for the entirety of the period and woke when the bell rang to a pounding headache, a dry mouth, bad breath, and pissed beyond belief. So even his respite from his shitty day was polluted with a bad aftertaste.

            Then he had to endure the fiasco that was Econ. Enough said.

            Now here he was, fiddling with his key card outside of his dorm, wanting nothing more than to collapse right where he stood and sleep until the sun decided to implode and destroy all that is life on earth, preferably with him being the first victim. He finally got the key into the slot and pushed down on it with such enthusiasm that minstrels were sure to write beautiful archaic songs about the ecstasy that was in his relief.

            And then the heavens opened for Zeus himself to send a specialty bolt made out of pure ironic cruelty and puppy dog tears to strike him right on his posterior like the cherry on top of this hellacious day; he promptly broke the key card right in half, lickety-split, bam wham thank you ma’am, and go fuck yourself seven ways till Sunday, he really hates his life.

            He had no earthly idea how he did not break down right there in the hall to shrivel and die because of how pathetic his existence is. He didn’t even feel like crying anymore, just achingly numb and so _done_. If there should be any reprieve forthcoming, please let it be in the form of Grover mercifully being in the dorm and not making him wait hours for him to return because he doesn’t think he has the energy to move to go get help.

            He swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying to dislodge it but only making it more pronounced. Praying to whatever deity that was listening that he would be allowed this one act of amnesty, he rapped his knuckles against the door and tried to stay standing straight. He almost cried in relief when he heard the scrape of metal signaling the knob was turning.

            “Grover, thank-”

            “Hey, Nico.”

            That…was not Grover.

            Unearthly verdant eyes, sparkling with mirth, were peering down at him from underneath unruly bangs. He was looming in the doorway of _Nico’s_ dorm room, wearing one of _Nico’s_ sweaters, and with a one of _Nico’s_ most prized books open in his hand. Now admittedly, any other day and the sight of Percy in his clothes and looking so comfortable in his room was a sight that he would gladly welcome.

            Unfortunately for them both, Nico had had enough for the day and honestly he just didn’t have the energy to put up with Percy’s confusing flirtations. No, he could not do it. He leveled the fiercest glare he could muster while being practically dead on his feet and forcibly shoved his way past the annoying, beautiful little shit still beaming at him from the doorway, flouncing his way to his bed, plopping his ass down, hopefully for the night, and aggressively started to take off his shoes.

            “Please tell me why the hell you are in my room, oh, and how you got in here, before you kindly escort yourself the fuck out.” Nico carelessly threw his shoes over by the doorway, not exactly aiming for Percy’s figure still lurking by the open doorway but not exactly making a conscious effort to stop them from landing rather harshly against his shins.

            Percy finally closed the door, except his body was still in the room and not outside of it. The green eyed man skipped over the shoes tossed at him and sat right next to Nico on the bed, brushing up against his shoulder. Thankfully he didn’t go as far to push their hips together, because Percy’s presence in his room, lounging on his bed nonetheless, was doing dreadful things to Nico’s mood, rapidly improving it even, and he would rather keep the negative aura about him for a little longer.

            He scooted his way farther down the bed, only by a few inches so it wouldn’t be too noticeable, but Percy noticed anyway. Nico was staring determinably at a pair of discarded socks on the floor, trying to ignore the way the other boy shifted sideways until they were brushing shoulders again. Less subtle now, he threw himself all the way on the other side of the bed, shoved against the wall, and scoffed.

            Percy was not taking the hint, or perhaps he got what Nico was trying to do, but was choosing to ignore it. It was most likely the second, because he flung himself right back against Nico, pressing them together from their ankles to their hips, hips to shoulders, trapping him against his body and the wall. Well, there goes Nico’s bad mood, burned away with the blush mounting on his cheeks.

            Trying to keep some semblance of composure, Nico tried to pretend this was something that friends do all the time, press against and invade each other’s personal space. How was he supposed to know if this was actually normal and he was just blowing it out of proportion? It’s not like he ever had any close friends to act like this with, Bianca didn’t count, so maybe it was a normal interaction to engage in social cuddles with people one considers more adequate to interact with than strangers.

            But then again, he was fairly sure that wasn’t the case because that was most definitely Percy’s hand on his upper thigh and he most certainly had Percy’s tongue down his throat last weekend.

            Oh, and apparently his hand was a cat because the only word Nico could think of to call what Percy was doing to his thigh with his hand was kneading, and that action was sending it too close for comfort to a certain part of Nico’s anatomy that was far too interested for its own good. The amount of air Nico was swallowing was threatening to overwhelm him, choke him, but he couldn’t stop. He needed it to keep his head clear.

            “Are you going to answer my question or not?” Nico tried to put as much venom into his voice as he could but it came out weak even to his own ears. “And why the ever living fuck are you wearing my clothes?”

            Percy chuckled and rubbed his hand methodically from Nico’s upper thigh to his knee and back, something that was either meant to soothe or arouse, he wasn’t sure, but it was doing a good job of the last one. He ignored Nico’s question and instead leaned in close and purred in his ear. “Why, Nico. You’re being really wordy today, aren’t we?”

            Nico shivered with equal measures of excitement and frustration at the other boy’s refusal to acknowledge his questions.  By some miracle, hopefully because he finally saw the very real fire Nico’s eyes, he decided to cut the crap. He leaned back away from Nico’s personal bubble and took the hem of the sweater he was wearing, stretching it out in front of him to look down at a knitted man in a black and white striped suit, wild hair flying, laughing manically next to a young, black haired girl in a dramatic red dress.

            “This? It looked comfy. Silly, but comfy.” Percy was raising one of his slim eyebrows at him pointedly.

            Blood flooded under the surface of his cheeks but he tried to hide it behind a scowl. “What? It’s a good movie, fuck nuts. And just because it looked comfortable doesn’t mean you had any right to put it on.” He knew he was being defensive, but fucking sue him, he had a bad day and the boy that was causing him so much distress in the past week was still playing coy. Nico just wanted to know what he wanted from him, because this little tête-à-tête was draining on him.

            Percy just grinned at him like he hadn’t just called him something offensive and had been persistently trying to throw him out of his room. No, he thought he still had the right to look mischievous and sexy, the self-confident idiot. “I see. You want me to take it off then?”

            His dark eyes widened as he realized the seriousness behind those words, mouth gaping, forming protesting words, but Percy didn’t wait for an answer before he pulled the sweater over his head. He dropped the now inside-out sweater next to them on the bed, falling back and propping himself casually up on his elbows. “Is this better?”

            Nico opened and closed his mouth a few times, gaping at him like a fish. It wasn’t that it was the first time that he had seen the other boy topless, but it was the first time he had seen Percy topless while sober. His six-pack was pronounced but not overly so, just enough for it to be noticeable, wrapped sinfully tight in sun-kissed skin. Those biceps begged to be squeezed, bit, licked, sucked, whispering him to fall and let them catch him in their strong embrace. In the middle of his lean ‘v’ stretching out from his hipbones, just under his bellybutton, was a dark patch of whisky hair disappearing into his jeans. Nico had never before understood why it was called a ‘happy trail’ before, but he thought that maybe he finally got it, because oh what a happy trail it was.

            The wobble of a deep chuckle alerted him that he had been staring far longer than appropriate. He could see Percy leaning closer and closer and for a moment, he was frozen. He was just too close. That’s it; he just needed to have some breathing room.

            He stood on shaky legs and tried to control his breathing, breathing out a laugh that was meant to be nonchalant, but it felt more stilted and awkward than when he was forced to be a lost boy in a play in the eighth grade. He was about to make a witty remark about how it would be better if he found someone else to bullshit around with when he felt large hands, easily larger than his own, frame his hips.

            Gasping, eyes wide and eyebrows in his hairline, he wasn’t frozen this time. He tried to jerk away from the other boy’s grasp but the hands just held him tighter, pulling him back and making him stumble slightly. His hands felt numb at his sides, like they wouldn’t allow him to wiggle his pinky let alone raise his hands to claw at the ones locked on his hipbones.

            The only thing he could do was stand there, breathe roughly, and try to suppress the shiver that was threatening to roll down his spine. “Wh-what are you doing?” The hands pulled him closer, and he blamed it on shock that he just stepped with back until he felt warm breath on his lower back.

            “Juicy, huh?  I’d say so, but then again, I’ve only been treated to a…” Percy’s thumbs brushed the top of his jeans, hitching the shirt slightly up on their return, “let’s say, curtained, view. But I’m sure it would be breathtaking when the curtain goes up.”

            Nico felt heat rise up to the tips of his ears, spreading down his neck. He had never before been exposed to such blatant flirting, but then again, he had barely been flirted with before at all. What was one supposed to do in these situations? Was he supposed to pull away and protect his honor, go with it, give back as good as he got? Was sarcasm still an appropriate response?

            It had never been this way with Alex. The blond had always being frank with what he wanted and when he wanted it. He had never flirted with Nico and gods forbid given him a compliment, especially on his looks. Especially on his ass, which is what he was 99% sure Percy was doing. Quite the opposite actually, always telling him how chubby he was getting from all the food he made, slapping his ass and mocking him for how it would jiggle.

            It turned out to be a real problem for him later on, and it only got worse after Alex had broken up with him. He stopped cooking; only doing when he had to, lest the temptation to eat became overwhelming. But it didn’t matter. He was just like his mother used to be Bia had told him, releasing all of his sorrows and stress by eating and eating and eating.

            He would come home from school and nitpick everything he had done wrong and hate himself for all the things that Alex had said that must have been true. He was too slow, never smart enough to interest anyone in an actual conversation. Alex said that was the reason he was his only friend. He stumbled over his words and blushed too much. Alex said it was a miracle he hadn’t been beaten to a pulp because of what a bumbling idiot he was, he was right. He tried to stand up for himself against the bullies, refusing to be their conquest of the week, but it just left him with even more bruises. Alex said he needed to learn his place, that maybe the additional bruise he left on the back of his thighs would teach him to stay down. He hated the brown belt Alex said he got form his father the worst because it was the thinnest and always stung more, but that was Alex’s favorite.

            The next thing he knew he was sitting in the kitchen surrounded by empty bags of chips, melted ice-cream containers, a half spilt bag of jelly beans, and countless spoons dipped in various cans and jars. He told himself that he didn’t remember doing it, that it was an accident and that he couldn’t control it, but he knew that he was just lying to himself. Because when he was throwing it all back up in their second floor bathroom, the only thing on his mind was if Alex would praise him for doing something right for once. He knew he would do it again, and he didn’t plan on stopping, even if the word out of his mouth contradicted his intentions.

            When Alex had left him broken and humiliated, it was so much worse, because all he could think about was what he could possibly do to make Alex come back and tell him it was all just a misunderstanding and that he loved him and to please take him back. His ass jiggled too much, his thighs were too meaty, there was too much fat hanging off of his hips, his arms were gigantic. Everything was just _too much_.

            So he stopped eating. No one noticed for a long time. His father was never home and even when he was, he rarely spared a glance in his direction, nothing new there. The kids at school never paid him much attention as it is, and after Alex had shunned him, the rest of the school found it just as easy to pretend that he didn’t even exist. If the teachers noticed, they didn’t say anything. Why would they say anything about the weight loss if they never reported the bruises?

            Bianca had left home by then, thinking that Nico was finally making friends and that Alex was his prince charming, because that’s what he was in Nico’s eyes. He had never told his sister about the beatings and insults because he thought they were unimportant, and that he deserved them. But when she came to check on him after the breakup, she was horrified that she could barely recognize her own brother.

            She took him immediately to the hospital and demanded he be looked at. He had become extremely malnourished and dehydrated, with a high fever and low blood pressure. His olive skin had soured to a sickly shade of yellow and his thick locks of hair were becoming thin and brittle, breaking off at the slightest brush. His bones were sticking out of his body in harsh angles, his skin stretched too tight.

            They had him admitted directly. He was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, which is a lot more serious than people like to think it is. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel like eating, because damn was he hungry, but it was more his will to not eat despite his hunger pains. They also told him he developed a minor case of generalized anxiety and depression, but it was hard for him to tell them that those particular developments had probably been there for far longer than he started to punish himself by not eating. But then they might ask questions, and it was hard to differentiate from the bruises he got from school and Alex and the scars he has from his father.

            No matter how much he needed professional help, when his father found out he had been hospitalized, well. He decided he wasn’t paying. They could only keep him so long and his father made it abundantly clear that he wanted Nico out of their care. When his father said jump, they asked where the nearest cliff was. He didn’t blame them. His father wasn’t a man you say no to.

            Bianca was furious at their father and at Nico himself for not telling her what had been going on. She took him back to her house and called all of his teachers to let them know that he had a medical emergency and that he wouldn’t be coming to school for a while. His father had nothing to say about it, at least from what Bianca told him.

            He stayed with Bianca for a little over four months before he wanted to go back home. He wasn’t cured, far from it. But he missed home. So Bianca moved in again, at least until he was functioning. No matter how he protested she refused to take no for an answer, despite her leaving home the year before was the best thing she had ever done for herself. She said he was more important; he had never felt more worthless.

            She stayed there with him two years, even got him involved in the community center where he became a big brother to a sweet kid named Carlos. But it was still hard. He remembered late nights with his sister holding him, begging her to just let him be. Crying over how much he ate that day and what Alex would think if he saw him. It was pathetic but he didn’t care.

            He slowly got better. Eating more, not feeling the need to count calories, no more throwing up every time he saw himself naked in the mirror. He started to see the chips in Alex’s armor, all the things that were imperfect or wrong about their relationship, and he started to see not everything that happened was his fault. The kids at school didn’t beat him because he need to learn his place and it was their way of letting him fit in, Alex didn’t abuse him because he wasn’t good enough for him and it was the only way he could make up for it, and his father didn’t neglect him because his mother’s death was his fault and everything that went wrong since was because he was still there when she wasn’t.

            Bianca moved back to her own home at the end of his junior year after he convinced her he was fine to be on his own. She still visited constantly and called every chance she got, but it was nice being on his own again. He had most of his normal eating habits back but he would always eat considerably less than what was considered normal. His skin and hair got their natural glow and bounce back and he even developed a healthy exercise routine, although he would probably never have more than basic tone.

            He feared the worse when he went back to school for his senior year. The one thing his father hates worse than his own son would have to be a bad reputation, so despite him wanting nothing to do with Nico, he still hired an in-home tutor for him. Because if he was going to have a disappointment as a son anyway, the least he can do is be educated. But he was actually going back for his final year, and he had no idea what to expect. That was a lie, he knew what was coming; insults, name calling, daily beatings, a daily dose of humiliation in whatever form they could think of for the day. He didn’t even want to think about what Alex would do.

            What happened was not what he was expecting. No one messed with him. Sounds great right? By no one messed with him, he meant he was invisible again. No one talked to him, they looked right through him. Even the teachers interacted with him as little as possible. It was so much worse than the beatings. He almost missed the ache that came with the bruises.

            There was a harsh sting on his left side, drawing his attention down. Percy was looking up at him with his teeth clamped over the flesh of his hip, smirking and with mirthful eyes. He inhaled sharply and finally twisted away from Percy’s grasp. He felt like he was going to throw up after that merry trip down memory lane.

            “What do you want?” The other boy’s bright eyes dimmed at the harshness in his tone but he still smiled up at him patiently. Nico tried not to feel guilty. “Well, wanna hang out?”

            After the day he had and that pleasant little experience with the ghosts of his past? Hell no he didn’t feel like ‘hanging out’. He wanted to curl up on his bed with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and take a nap until classes the next morning.

            The full force of his puppy eyes was draining on his resolve though. He would feel too guilty if he just flat out told him that he didn’t want to hang out, so what was a guy supposed to do? “Sorry. I, uh, already have plans. I’m going to the library.”

            Percy shot up off of the bed and stalked across the room to wear his actual shirt was laying across a desk chair, tugging it on over his head. “Great! I’ll walk you over there.”

            Well, shit. Now he had to actually go to the library. It could have been worse, he supposed. At least this way he can actually get some work done and there were some more books he wanted to check out.

            Percy was waiting for him by the door, holding out his shoes for him. Nico grumbled to himself as he yanked them from his grasp and shoved his feet in them. He breezed past the boy and headed out of the dorm room, making a beeline for the library. The faster he got there, the faster he would be alone. He knew he should probably be happier about the extra time he was getting to spend with Percy and for the effort the boy seemed to be putting into courting him but he was just in a gods awful mood.

            He enjoyed spending time with the bright eyed bad boy and he wouldn’t mind getting to know him even more. He wanted to know more about Percy’s family, about what all of his tattoos mean, why everyone seemed to like him so much. He also very much wanted to know what the other boy’s cock tasted like, but he supposed he should know all of the basics first.

            Percy caught up with him shortly after and slung an arm over his shoulder, a move that could be platonic or romantic, so he let it slide. They walked in companionable silence to the library, a few people calling out greetings to Percy and sending Nico either jealous or confused stares. He tried to ignore it and kept his head down but Percy just waved right back and acted like he was close, personal friends with everyone that passed. He kept asking them things like “How’d your sister’s move to Boston go, Malcolm?”, “Tell your uncle I said to lay off the telemundo, Butch”, and “Is Ernie still being mean to Princess? Cats are just territorial, Lou.”

            Does this guy know everyone, Nico thought. Or had he just slept with them all? That last thought felt bitter in his mouth. “Mr. Popular, huh?” Percy gave him an odd look out of the corner of his eye, half amused and half something Nico didn’t want to hope for. “I just make it a point to know people, Nico. Everyone is important.”

            He didn’t know what to do with that so he just kept walking, this time with a lump in his throat and disappointment boiling in the pit of his stomach. What was there to be disappointed in? Percy seemed to be an all around great guy, even if he did sleep around a bit. He acted like he generally cared for everyone and there was nothing more attractive in a guy than genuine kindness.

            But he was still disappointed. He was ashamed of himself for one, for being jealous of his concern for other people when he should have been pleased with it. But he was also disappointed because what if that was all Percy was trying to do? Getting to know him, because that was just the kind of person he was. But what if he wanted more?

            His relief almost overshadowed his remorse when they reached the library doors. He wiggled out from under Percy’s hold and turned to him with only a slightly strained smile. “Well, what do you know the library?” Nico placed a hand on the door knob and sent him a smile over his shoulder. He was half way through the door when he turned around to tell him bye but he collided with his shoulder instead.

            The force was enough to knock him backwards but Percy reached out to catch him in his arms, leaning them both halfway through the door in a dip as if they were dancing. Nico stared at him wide eyed and Percy just laughed and leaned in a little more. “We just keep ending up in these situations huh?”

            At the cocky eyebrow raised in his direction he regained his senses and scoffed at the green-eyed boy that had his arms around his waist. “Uh-huh, it’s fate, I guess.” He responded sarcastically. When he just nodded his head, still smiling stupidly, Nico slowly looked between Percy’s eyes and the floor. “You gonna put me down?”

            His sea green eyes widened and his mouth tilted up mischievously. Nico wasn’t sure he wanted to know what he was about to say, but he was saved by a loud cough behind them. “Excuse me, boys. Other people have to use those doors, you know?”

            They both gasped in shock and turned to look in the direction the voice came from, where Percy promptly dropped Nico on his ass. The dark eyed boy flailed without the arm’s support and landed harshly on his backside, using his hands to catch his fall to prevent his head from receiving the impact. He groaned annoyed and glared up at the boy who dropped him. “What the hell, dude?”

            Percy gave him an apologetic look while he helped him up, Calypso chuckling in the background. They stepped back from the door and three different people walked in after them, looking at them amused, one refusing to look at them at all. You would think all of the embarrassment Nico has gone through in his life would make him used to awkward situations, but every time he felt his blood flood his cheeks he knew it wouldn’t be the last. He also knew that his pale skin would never let him hide it, either. Maybe he should start wearing blush…

            “Hey, Calypso. And how is the lovely lady this evening?” Percy swooped down to deliver a kiss onto her hand, but she just smiled knowingly at him. “Oh, Leo is doing just fine. I’ll let him know you asked.”     

            A laugh bubbled out of his throat, but he masked it in a cough when the Latino came around the corner. “Eh! I heard that, ya know?” Leo was obviously making an effort to keep the smile off of his face and his tone annoyed, but he was also failing miserably. He came to stand next to his girlfriend, crossing his arms in front of him.

            Percy spread his arms and gave the couple a small bow before taking Leo’s hand and giving him a kiss as well. “Well, a beautiful lady should know when she is being asked after, shouldn’t she?” Leo pulled his hand away and slapped him in the shoulder with it. “You charmer.”

            Nico didn’t know what to think of their interaction with each other. Back at his school in L.A. you would be beat to a pulp for insinuating someone was a girl. But here they were, acting like it was normal for them, something that happened every day. It was strange, but…he kind of liked it. An echoing voice in the back of his head sneered; _you would like that, wouldn’t you?_ He really was having a bad day, wasn’t he? He hadn’t heard Alex’s voice in weeks.

            He tried to sneak past the three friends as they were still snarking at each other, but of course the little shit noticed right away. “Okay, guys. I’ll see you later. Got a hot date!”

            “I’m not his date!”

            Percy laughed lowly in his ear. “Still hot.”

            Nico elbowed him in the gut and walked off in the opposite direction while he was busy clutching his stomach. It didn’t matter if he found it flattering; he didn’t have to take it so easy. “If you’re joining me, you better keep up.”

* * *

 

            Nico collapsed onto his bed with a heaving sigh. He was dead on his feet after the day he had. Never before had he had such a rollercoaster of a day. It started out to be one of the worst days he had since he was in high school and then completely flipped to be one of the best in his entire life.

            No matter how much he tried to maintain his sour mood, Percy knew exactly what to say and do to make him smile and laugh against his will, slowly sucking all of his negative emotions from his body, which had to be the second form of sucking Percy was best at. Well, the third really, he was assuming. And then again, he was only guessing as to the first one, but the second one…well, Nico was sure his lips had never been bruised in such a pleasurable way before.

* * *

 

            _They were seated at a table near the back of the library, each with a book open in front of them. Nico was reading a boring as hell textbook about cubic polynomials for his college algebra class and Percy was reading a Disney picture book…upside down._

_Calypso had enough of telling them to quiet down, don’t disturb the other library-goers, stop making pyramids out of the books. Yes, that last one was Percy. So, she had banished them to reading quietly at a table or leaving before they gave her grey hair._

_It was hard to concentrate on mathematics when there was a gorgeous boy in front of you trying to look so serious while reading an upside down picture book. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was resting his chin on his hand, his index finger under his lower lip and his thumb perpendicular to them. Hah! Perpendicular, see, he was trying. But the other boy was just being too adorably dumb for his own good._

_He wasn’t dumb, though. He was actually quite smart. They talked for hours about everything from politics, which they both were not interested in but still felt was important, their favorite b-rated movies, they both had a particular fondness for Fright Night and Tremors, to their plans for the future._

_Percy was studying for a degree in Marine Biology and was working at a zoo in the sea lion exhibit, but what he really wanted to do was open his own aquatic life reserve where they would take in injured or endangered sea life and care for them, sending them back into the ocean or to other wild life refuges when they were better. That’s why he had taken business classes early on. The way his eyes would light with barely contained joy when talking about all of his plans and how much good he wanted to do, it melted Nico to the core._

_Nico told him about how he wanted to become a writer because of his mother and how he always wanted to travel the world. He told him shyly about how he wanted to write poetry in different languages because he believed language is the one uniting factor of the world, even if they don’t all speak the same one. Percy was real quiet after he told him that so he started apologizing and telling him to forget about it because it was stupid, but Percy just took his hand from across the table and kissed it, shaking his head as if Nico was something he just couldn’t figure out._

_He was almost certain that there was hardly a topic they did not broach in that library. When it was getting late and they were still browsing through bookshelves, stealing looks at each other through empty spaces, Percy reached for the same book as him. Both of their hands were brushing the spine, Percy’s on top of Nico’s, but Nico didn’t see anything but those mesmerizing eyes coming closer to his own._

_Then there was warmth on his lips and Percy’s eyes were shut so tight so he thought he better close his too._

_Their lips barely moved, just glancing off and coming back in for more, small pecks that left Nico’s head spinning. He didn’t dare to breath, only feel. He felt something finally break within him and he realized that he wanted this. He wanted Percy kissing him and touching him and moving against him, whispering sweet nothings and pulling hot moans from him. But he also wanted to hold his hand and brush his bangs from his eyes, cook for him, take care of him when he was sick, laugh with him over buttered popcorn at the movie theatre. He just wanted Percy, all of him._

_He exhaled roughly and grabbed the sides of the taller boy’s face, firmly mashing his lips more forcibly onto his own. Percy reacted quickly to his change and pressed Nico’s back into the nearest bookcase. His lips were achingly sweet on his own, molding them together just to wrench them apart and fit them together again, sucking on his bottom lip as if he wouldn’t rather be doing anything else in the world. As chaste as they kept it, it still felt more passionate than all the kisses he had received in his life combined._

_Just as he was about to become bold and swipe his tongue over the seam of Percy’s lips, there was a loud cough right by their ears. The two boys broke apart red faced and panting and shot matching looks of guilt at the exasperated girl glaring at them. “Seriously? Last shot guys, get out of here, please. Before I lose my sanity!”_

_Calypso stormed off with a mountain of books piled in her hands to muttered apologies. Nico glanced at Percy from under his eyelashes, surprised to see an equally admonished look on the boy’s face. “Well,” he cleared his throat “I better get back and get some sleep, then.”_

* * *

 

            Percy had walked him home like a complete gentleman, with his arm tucked into the crook of his elbow real old fashioned like and he even got a quick goodnight kiss. He was soaring above the clouds, too ecstatic to even be floating on cloud nine. It felt like his first date.

            He had just turned on his side to go to sleep when there was a knock at the door. His heart was threatening to jump right out of his throat but he managed to stand on shaky feet and open the door.

            Percy was standing there, excitement and nervousness dancing in his eyes, as he shuffled from foot to foot. He didn’t give Nico a chance to speak before interrupting him. “There’s going to be a party, this Friday night, down at the zoo I’m working at. It’s kinda like an afterhours staff party, but everyone is going to be there. You should come.”

            Nico blinks at him owlishly and nods along to what he’s saying. Is this a date? “Yeah, sure. I mean, I’d love to, uh, love that. I’ll be there.” Percy’s smile grows until it’s threatening to split his face right in half and he does this jumpy up and down thing, which Nico assumes is his happy dance. “Really? Awesome! It’s at Seven, I’ll see you there. Bye, Neeks!”

            He ducks in to press a lingering kiss to the side of his mouth and then he is striding down the hallway, whistling a merry tune.

            Nico closed the door and sat at the edge of his bed, the sound of Grover’s snoring the only sound in the room.

            Holy shit, did he have a date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you are still trying to figure out what was on Nico’s sweater, it was a reference to a movie called Beetlejuice.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	10. Friday, August 29th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason why the update is late is because my fall courses are starting so that means packing up all of my stuff and moving again. My studies do come first so updates might be few and far between from here on out, but rest assured, this story will not be abandoned; I plan to be here until the end of the line. Bribery, you say, to keep reading? I wish I could dedicate all of my time to writing this story, but alas, real life is still something I have to deal with. Being an adult sucks. As always, feel free, no, feel encouraged, to let me know your thoughts.
> 
> This is only about half of what I planned for chapter ten, but I thought I would give you a little something for the update being so late. The other half, chapter eleven will hopefully be up at the latest at the end of the weekend.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Some use of derogatory and homophobic slang

            It was seven thirteen and the party was supposed to be starting. He was sure there was going to be music and dancing and drinking and no small amount of fornicating going on, but he was planning on restricting himself on the last two. He planned on dancing and sticking to light beer. Hell, he might even socialize!

            Except he wasn’t doing any of those things. No, he was sitting on his bed in a pair of old sweatpants with a textbook open in front of him that was completely ignored, his phone pressed between his shoulder and ear as he stared listlessly at the blank wall in front of him. His sister was still talking his ear off but he stopped listening five minutes ago, finding the tiny spider making a web in the corner to be far more worth his time.

            “ _Nico, I swear to all that is holy, are you even listening to me anymore? Mi scusi, you are the one who called me, you know that right?_ ”

            Nico exhaled softly, still watching the spider wiggling to perfect its web. He whispered an affirmative and hoped that she would just keep going on her rant. The other line of the phone was quiet for a few minutes before he realized this silence was different than the one before because there was no annoying background noise to fill it in. Maybe she hung up on him.

            “ _Niccolò di Angelo! Listen to me. I know our father wasn’t always a real bastard, our mother loved him and so did you once. But I’ll be damned if I let him continue to influence your life when he is not even there. You fangirled on me for thirty minutes about this Perseus guy-_ ”

            “He goes by Percy.” Nico interrupted her with an embarrassed huff. “I was just calling him by his full name because, uh, yeah.” Bianca was silent again, or perhaps his breathing was just too loud.

            “ _Uh-huh_.” She started again, “ _Anyway, like I was saying, you wouldn’t shut up about this guy’s eyes and his tattoos and his arms and his abs. You were all Percy said this and Percy thinks that blue is the best of the colors and Percy said something so funny!_ ” Nico scoffed at her and pouted at the whiny voice she was using to mimic him. “ _You word vomited all over me and then when you finally get to the point and tell me he asked you out, you clam up on me! I thought you went into shock or something, bambino_.”

            Nico rolled his eyes and fell back with an oomph on his mattress. “I didn’t go into shock. I just didn’t have anything else to say.” He held his phone at arm’s length at his sister’s irritated shriek. Why did they have to be Italian, couldn’t they be from a quieter heritage, like Canadian?

            “ _Bullshit! I know you, Nico. You are trying to make me into the bad guy here and force you into backing out of the date or convince you to go, and then end up being pissed at me if it doesn’t go how you wanted it to. It didn’t work on picture day and it isn’t going to work now. This is your life and you should be the one making the decisions. Not me and especially not our father. You have two choices here; either go to him even though you don’t know what will happen or chicken out and forever be wondering what if. But I’m not going to tell you which one you should take. So what’s it gonna be, fratellino_?”

            He held his breath at Bianca’s tone of voice. She sounded just like their mother did when she was at her wits end, promising Nico a firm whipping if he didn’t come up with the right answer. His mama was a loving women who valued her kids over her own life, but Italian women were strong and his behind respected that hand. When Nico spoke, it was barely above a whisper.

            “So what should I wear?”

            Bianca screeched again, this time a lot more high pitched and excited. Nico just closed his eyes against the squeal and let a small smile fall on his lips.

* * *

 

            Someone knocked on the door loudly three times. Nico pushed a hand through his hair and nodded to his reflection in the mirror before answering it. Grover was standing on the other side looking as impatient as he had ever seen him, tapping his foot and rubbing a hand over his goatee, that relaxed smile spread over his maw.

            When Grover saw Nico, his smile grew into a grin and he let out an appreciative wolf whistle. “You clean up nice, roomie.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward some.  “Come on, give me a spin.”

            His inner gay diva must have been preening more than usual because of the long distance fashion show he just engaged in with his sister, because instead of flipping him the bird and calling him a dipshit like Grover was expecting, he just smiled at him excitedly and spun in a slow motion circle until he was facing his roommate once again. He even did a little bow slash princess-like curtsy when Grover whistled at him again.

            “Thanks! My sister helped me pick out what to wear, I had no idea what I was going to do, can you believe that? I hope we’re not going to be too late; the party has already been going for at least thirty minutes. Its okay we’re a little late, right? I’m sure it will be; whoever shows up on time to party’s anyways? Unless you actually do. I don’t know, I’ve only ever been to one before and that was with you guys! Holy shit, what if they don’t let us in?”

            Nico glanced panicked at the other boy’s face, seeking answers to his worries, but his roommate’s red faced and tight lipped smile threw him off. He looked constipated, is he not breathing? He didn’t look to be in pain though. In fact, he just made a pathetic wheezing sound like he just missed the punch line to the big joke. “What…?”

            Grover’s face finally started turning a normal color again after he let out several slow breathes like he was trying to regulate his breathing. The dark haired boy just continued to stare at him confusedly, wondering what could have possibly tickled him so badly.

            When he finally could look into Nico’s eyes without tears clouding his vision, he cleared his throat and leaned his shoulder again the nearest wall. Crossing a foot over his ankle he raised both bushy eyebrows at the puzzled boy. “You’re sister has good taste, I _can_ believe you were having a silent conniption over what to wear, it’s okay we’re going to be late, and I can promise you they will let us in. Now, if you’re done making sure your period hasn’t come early this month, are you ready to go?”

            The red of Snow White’s lips and the shine of Dorothy’s ruby slippers had nothing on the deep rosy complexion that Nico’s olive toned face took. His eyes zipped both ways down the hall to make sure no one else had just witnessed his debut into womanhood before he loomed into Grover’s personal space, face brooding like a storm and heavy with embarrassment. “You ever mention this again, and I’ll make you eat your gym socks. I swear on the river Styx, you will never eat anything ever again without the pungent aftertaste of sweat and fungus if you so much as breathe a word of what just happened to another living soul. Are we clear?”

            Fear and awe did not bloom on the other boy’s face like Nico was hoping it would, but he did see honesty in his gaze when he gave him that lazed out smile and said “we’re cool, we’re cool.”

“But, seriously, dude. You look nice.” They were walking out of the building by then, rounding the corner to Nico’s parking place. They were going to take Grover’s car, but Nico insisted that it was his turn to be the chauffer since they’ve used his car the last two times they went somewhere. At least, that’s what he told Grover. Honestly, he just wanted to make sure he had an easy way out if things got too intense.

           Grover bumped their shoulders again to get his attention. “Earth to Nico? I’m trying to compliment you, man. Really, you look good.” The dark haired boy managed to keep from blushing this time but he couldn’t hold off the embarrassed chuckle that escaped his lips.

            Nico knew he looked good, or at least he knew his sister said he looked good. He was wearing his signature black jeans, that he probably needed to wash because he’s been wearing them almost every day, and a plain white, v-neck t-shirt he usually only wore as an undershirt but what Bianca said was fitting for ‘party attire’. He even put his converse to rest for the night, choosing instead to lace up his equally well-loved combat boots.

            It wasn’t just the fact that people were telling him he looked good, it was more that he was _feeling_ good. He hadn’t felt this ready to face the world since he was ten years old and tagging along to Comic Con with his ‘cool’ older sister who was trying everything to get her younger brother to smile again after their mother’s recent death, decked out in a cheesy Batman cosplay and armed with his finest Mythomagic deck, all set to challenge any willing fellow geek to a game.

            He felt good, wholesome, and happy. Percy had asked him out on a date, and maybe it wasn’t exactly in those words, but he knew that’s what was being implied, and he has never been happier. He was even looking forward to seeing some of the others he decided he wouldn’t mind as friends, not as much as possibly getting to spend some time with Percy, but still leaving him more willing to interact with other living beings than he ever expected himself to again.

            “Yeah,” he sighed wistfully as he unlocked the door with his key, “I feel good.”

            He felt better than good. He was downright giddy.

 

* * *

 

            After a very frustrating drive in which Grover managed to get them lost three times with his shitty directions, they finally managed to accidentally wind up in the zoo parking lot before they realized that’s where they were. But nothing was getting Nico down tonight.

            Nico hadn’t been to a zoo since Bianca and him snuck out of some swanky hotel their father boarded them up in Tulsa, just two young kids running through lunch hour traffic and dodging sleazy looking groups of roughneck people lurking in the shadows of every corner all because Nico had never seen penguins before and Bianca refused to rest until he could fulfill his childish fantasies.

            It looked a lot different than the zoo he remembered, but that was probably because one, it was a different zoo, and two, the sun was setting and there were no people milling about, filling the air with their excited squeals.

            The two roommates ducked under a chain blocking off an entrance way and then headed over to the only gate without a lock on it. If this zoo was anything like the other one had been, it must be huge. “So, where are we supposed to be?”

            Grover was sauntering over to a path that leads to the left around a huge water structure that seemed to be empty, so he didn’t know if any of the animals were supposed to be out. If he was being honest, he was hoping to see some of the animals just as much as he was looking forward to spending time with Percy. Now, if he could do both at once, that would be something. The passed a sign that addressed the animals whose homes were in the direction they were going and wondered if this zoo had penguins as well. Grover was further along the path now, his figure almost obscured by some rather large bushes. “Come on, man. This way.”

            It wasn’t long before it became apparent where the party was at, what with the loud music and flashing neon colors disappearing into the rapidly fading sunset. From the sign they just passed, Nico assumed they were entering Central Gardens. He wondered if this was the part where Percy worked as well.

            The sun was almost completely set by now but there was plenty of light surrounding the people milling about as they rounded the corner. There were a lot of people, not nearly as many as he remembered from at the club and probably not even as many as there were at Piper’s house beforehand, but still quite a lot. A lot of them were dressed in some sort of uniform, so he assumed they were the employees that were throwing the party.

            He recognized some of them from the group everyone was trying to include him in. His half sister was laughing over by the edge of some roses with Juniper, and Grover left him once again with a clap to his shoulder to meet with his girlfriend. Calypso and Leo were cuddling by a statue of some animal that he couldn’t see because they were draped over it. It was kind of cute seeing the feisty Latino all soft and loveable and at least a good head shorter than the girl his arm was around, maybe two with those killer heels she had on.

            There were a lot of people he recognized from his classes that he never talked to. A gruff looking boy in a leather jacket and stunning green eyes that was in his Math class was chatting up an out of place looking boy in a beige trench coat that he thought might be in his English class. Jason and Piper were dancing with another couple; a mousy looking girl and an awkward looking young man with loud yellow underwear sticking out of his jeans and whom he could tell from all the way over here with his bad eye sight was gay. He doubted the poor girl knew.

            Although he knew these people, he doubted they knew him, and he couldn’t see Percy anywhere. Nobody seemed to see him standing there uneasily at the edge of the crowd but he still felt uncomfortable standing in such a wide open place where everyone could gawk at him if they did end up noticing him.

            Not seeing a better option, he decided to follow after Grover toward his sister. He passed a drinks table on his way and grabbed three cups of whatever mystery alcohol they were serving to a bunch of underage college kids. When he reached them, he handed a drink to each of their empty hands.

            “Thanks, brother! What about you though?” Hazel gave him a one-armed hug and took a large swig from her cup. He could see it wouldn’t be long before she would need another one. “I’m good for now.”

            “So, Nico.” Juniper’s sweet voice pulled his eyes away from the warm gold of his sister’s. “We were just talking about starting a game. What do you think?”

            His eye brows pulled together as he answered her. “Yeah, okay. I think that would be, uh, fine?” Juniper turned to giggle into Grover’s chest and Hazel hit upside the head lightly. He tried to hide his embarrassment by raising his hand to take a sip of his drink before he remembered that he didn’t grab one for himself and it only made him seem even more ridiculous because his hand was now hovering awkwardly by his mouth as he stared down at it in disbelief.

            That caused Hazel to bubble over in laughter but she had a drink in her hand to hide behind unlike he did and he sent her a withering glare in protest. Juniper reached out and put a kind hand on his upper arm. “It’s okay, Nico. I’m glad you think it is a good idea. But I was hoping maybe you would have an idea of a game we could play.”

            Nico gave her a small smile in appreciation. Although he had no idea what types of games one was supposed to play at a college party. Twister? Monopoly? Simon Says? He had just opened his mouth to tell her he had no idea when a small manicured hand clamped down on his shoulder and gave it a harsh squeeze.

            “Well, I think we should play Truth or Dare! It always turns out to be interesting.” Nico followed the tan skin up passed a slim arm to thin shoulders with cascading golden locks framing calculating grey eyes.

            Annabeth was giving him that little smile of hers, the one where he didn’t know if it was twisted in genuine fondness or hidden intentions. He shivered under her intense gaze and dropped his eyes from her own, taking in the rest of her appearance. He had to give it to her, she was exceptionally beautiful and dressed to the nines. She was wearing a form fitting black cocktail dress that had silver accents across her chest, which was pushed up in a way that screamed for them to be noticed. Her stroppy heels made her naturally tall frame stretch invitingly and Nico was mortified to realize that it was easier for him to see eye to eye with her boobs than with her actual eyes.

            Okay, he was feeling extremely under dressed and decidedly less confident now that he was standing side by side his competition. How could he have forgotten that Annabeth was still someone he had to contend with? How was he supposed to catch Percy’s attention when he was overshadowed with Annabeth’s familiar personality and gigantic boobs?

            “ _You’re not, you idiot. Who in their right mind would want a fat fag like you when they could have a gorgeous piece of ass like that?”_ It’s true, he really should lose some weight, he looks disgusting. He wouldn’t pick himself over Annabeth. But at least he had other ways of catching Percy’s attention.

            _“What, you think looks are the only department you don’t have to compete with? You dumb fuck, she is three times as smart as you will ever hope to be.”_ That’s also true; he wasn’t smart, not really. There were so many people better than him.

            _“You’re damn straight. You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. You will never be good enough, you hear me? The only thing you will ever be good for is putting those pretty cock sucking lips to good use. They’re your only good feature after all.”_

He knows.

            “Nico! Hey, man, you made it! Nico? You in there?” Nico’s eyes slowly unglazed and he turned toward the voice that was speaking into his left ear. Alex was standing there smiling at him, a wide smile twitching a little with concern, pulling his thin eyebrows together under his messy, dirty blond hair. He never smiled at him like that, even in the beginning when their relationship was all rainbows and sunshine shooting out of a pony’s ass. His smile was always edged with a certain cruelness beneath the surface of fake congeniality.

            Nico swallowed hard and tried to resist the urge to grab onto his stomach protectively. With each time he blinked Alex’s features slowly changed. Blond hair was traded in for deep brown, almost black waves. Thin brows thrown in harsh angles faded away into thicker and darker ones. Dull blue eyes the color of murky water brightened into celestial pools of enchanting green. The smile stayed the same though, soft pink lips slanted into a worried but kind grin.

            Percy beamed at him when his eyes fully focused on him. “Hey, there he is! Where’d you go?” Annabeth was still hanging all over his right side, so when she placed her arms around his shoulders and squeezed he felt as small as a mouse being embraced by a boa constrictor. He looked between the two friends and sometimes lovers and pulled Annabeth’s hands from his body, ducking under her now extended arms.

            “Anyway.” Nico chose to ignore Percy’s question, not wanting him to know anything about Alex. Instead, he whistled sarcastically at Percy’s outfit. He was wearing a beige three-quarter sleeve button down with the zoo’s logo on his breast pocket over army green cargo pants, black knee length water boots, still wet, overlapping them. Even in that dorky get up, he still managed to look like a wet dream. “Nice get up you have there.”

            Percy waggled his eyebrows at him and jutted one hip to side, arms resting sassily on his waist. “Thanks, but don’t worry. Everyone finds the uniform irresistible. Just to give you a fair warning though, I wouldn’t sniff me.” Percy leaned in almost comically close to whisper yell in his ear. “I probably still smell like fish!”

            Nico rolled his eyes to try to deflect Percy’s charm but he couldn’t help but to laugh. He was never much for laughing when he didn’t think something was truly funny, but he found himself laughing a lot more over things that honestly shouldn’t garner a laugh; like when Percy tells a corny joke or when Percy trips over an invisible object or when Percy gets this really adorable confused scrunch between his eyes when he tries to pay attention to Mr. Brunner when he talks about grammar. He was sensing a pattern.

            The heels of Annabeth’s shoes made an annoying scuff as she maneuvered around him to reach Percy, pushing her way between them and slotting her arm into the one Percy had perched on his hip. “You always smell like fish, seaweed brain.”

            “I think he smells like sea salt and vanilla.”

            Everyone in their group turned towards him with various degrees of surprise painted across their faces, Hazel’s being the least surprised and more smug and Percy’s being the most surprised, with something eerily close to awe gleaming in his iridescent greens.

            He really had not meant to say that out loud, but with Annabeth’s boobs pressed up against Percy’s side like they were, he guessed his brain just made an executive decision to get Percy’s attention back in any way, regardless of if it embarrassed the body. Damn you brain, now everyone was staring at him like they expected him to break out into song and dance.

            “I-I mean, uh, I mean that I didn’t mean…um-” Percy saved him from his embarrassing stuttering monologue by disentangling himself from Annabeth and her boobs and grabbing his arm just above his wrist. Nico snapped his mouth shut with an audible pop and gave him a small smile, one that he would call affectionate from anyone else.

            “Must be all the sea water sloshing around inside mixing with all the vanilla wafer cookies I eat.” He heard the others laugh and he could see his sister staring between him and Percy from the corner of his eye, but that was all background noise. All he could see at the moment was Percy and his kind smile and all he could feel was Percy’s thumb rubbing soothingly across the skin on the inside of his wrist. All he could smell was the reassuring pull of the sea and the gentle perfume of vanilla beans.

            And fish. He really did smell like fish.

            Percy tugged on his wrist to pull him along, not even saying anything to the others before taking off in the opposite direction of where people were gathering. Not knowing what else to do, Nico just followed along, not even protesting about being dragged like a naughty toddler.

            When they were a decent amount away from the party and the loud music, Percy let go of his wrist and allowed him to catch up. “So, Nico. Glad you could make it.”

            Nico turned his lips down with monumental effort in order not to crack a smile. “Yeah, it was a long way away, but I was in the neighborhood.”

            Percy let out a loud bellow and bumped his side with his elbow good naturedly. “Oh, yeah? Nothing to do with the fact that you wanted to see me?”

            Meditatively, Nico brought his hand up to his chin and cupped it, letting out a loud hum as if he was in deep thought. “Well, let me think about it.” He paused in his walking and looked off into the distance, Percy stopping to grin at him from a couple steps ahead. After he was silent for what he deemed an appropriate amount of time, he shook his head and met Percy’s gaze. “Nope. Not even a little bit.”

            Percy let out a mock gasp of surprise and brought his hand up to catch it like an old time movie actress. “Why, I never!”

            They both glared at each other challengingly until Nico’s lips twitched with the effort not to beam at the older male and Percy winked at him dramatically, sending them both into hysterics.

            When they both calmed down, red faced and tears in their eyes, they started walking in the direction Percy was taking them too in the first place. They walked a couple minutes in companionable silence, stealing glances at each other and turning a corner or two, until Nico’s curiosity won out.

“So, where are we going?”

            Percy stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to smirk at him. Oh, that smile held all kinds of promises and intentions. “Well, I need to change out of my work clothes. Care to join me?”

            Oh, so his smile _did_ hold all kinds of promises and intentions. Probably the naughty kind. His smile might as well have been an open book on all of the terrible, ghastly things he wanted to do to poor Nico, because he could clearly see the challenge in his smile.

            Nico di Angelo does not back down form challenges.

            “I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The party!
> 
> Mi scusi – excuse me
> 
> Italian naming traditions are very tricky, so I decided to skip adding any middle names for Nico because of this reason, and also because of keeping confusion out of the way and to not overly abuse my privileges with the characters. That said, I did choose for Nico to be short for Niccolò here, just as some others have chosen it to be Nicolas or Nikolas or any other variation there has been.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	11. Friday, August 29th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really rushed to get this chapter out to you guys, so if there are any mistakes, be sure to let me know. Otherwise, did I hear correctly that some of you have been waiting for some smut?

            Percy led him to a nondescript building behind some extremely tall fan-like bushes and ushered him inside through a side entrance. It was nice if not rather bland and appalling. The walls were all the same cream color and it was full of green colored lockers with benches in front of them, foggy mirrors attached to the side and barely functioning ceiling fans slowly twirling above them. In all honesty, it reminded Nico of the football player’s locker rooms back in California, except this one smelled more like animal feces rather than body odor.

            Either way, if the gleam in Percy’s eyes told him anything, it told him that he planned on ravishing the young Greco-Italian against one of those suspicious looking walls. This was almost okay with Nico; except he was truly afraid he would catch something if his bare skin came in contact with any of the shady looking surfaces in the changing room.

            He followed Percy down one the last isles and watched silently from a few feet away as he put in the combination to his lock. He sent a smirk over his shoulder at the shy looking boy and opened the locker to rummage through a bag.

            Nico took a moment to look over Percy’s shoulder at the inside of his locker door. There were three pictures taped to it. One was obviously a picture of him and Annabeth from their younger days. They were maybe twelve or thirteen and Annabeth was taller than him, slinging an arm over his shoulders and wearing a Yankees baseball cap. Percy was beaming at the camera and wearing an orange t-shirt, the same as the girl next to him, one arm slung around her waist and the other lifted to wave at the camera. It made something unpleasant rise in the back of Nico’s throat.

            The next picture was a larger one, a family picture with four people in it. Percy was sitting in the middle of an antique looking couch with a little girl in his lap, both of them smiling as overdramatically as they could. On one side of Percy was a women with soft brown, shoulder length hair and a kind face, a small and amused smile playing on her lips as she tried to ignore the two kid’s antics, and on the other side of him was an older man with soft red hair and gray streaks running through his small beard, one hand resting on Percy’s shoulder and the other rubbing the back of his neck. They looked happy.

            The last picture was of Percy and the same little girl from the other picture, maybe a year older. She was adorable, with the same red hair as the older man but longer and in crazy kinks and curls, warm hazel eyes and a bubbly smile, which was perhaps ten times as adorable because she was missing her two front teeth. The little girl, Narissa if he remembers correctly, was sitting on top of Percy’s shoulders, her small grubby hands thrown into the air in excitement. Percy’s hands were wrapped around her feet to keep her from falling. His deep sea glass eyes were twinkling with adoration as he was looking up at the little girl with a proud smile.

            They all looked so happy and full of life in those stolen moments. Photographs had always fascinated Nico because it was hard to believe something so precious could forever be captured, the emotions spread across people’s faces as they lived a moment that could never be lived again. Even though memories would dissolve and words would be forgotten, you would always remember the surge of emotions that you must have once felt because the evidence would be right there in front of you. Even if memories faded and lives changed, there would always be proof that it did happen, that you were once young and strong and beautiful, happy and carefree, and that gives you hope that maybe you could be that way again.

            Percy was watching him look at the pictures with softened eyes, standing there with his button down shirt hanging off of his shoulders and his belt open. Nico blushed when he realized he was being observed and met Percy’s eyes hesitantly. “Is this your family?”

            One of Percy’s hands came up to briefly caress Nico’s cheek before moving it to ghost over one of the pictures, relishing how his blush traveled down his neck and towards his collarbone at the fleeting touch. “Yes. This is my mother, Sally, and my stepfather, Paul. The munchkin is my baby sister. You remember how I told you about her?”

            Nico nodded once and allowed his eyes to travel from Percy’s long fingers to the picture with the little girl on his shoulders. “She looks like a sweet little thing.”

            He cut his eyes over to the older boy at Percy’s snort. “Oh, yeah, she’s quite the endearing little monster. Don’t turn your back on her though, next thing you know, you’ll be in a pink princess dress having a royal tea party with the stuffed animal court, drinking tap water tea and stale cookies under threat of tattle-telling that you said a no-no word. She’s only four and she already knows all she needs to in order to be a perfect lawyer, blackmailing and persuasive puppy dog eyes and all.”

            Nico laughed at the thought of Percy being stuffed into a frilly dress and making small talk with inanimate animals. Percy’s smile was far off as he ran his fingers down the picture. “I take it you know from experience?”

            “More than I care to admit. It was horrifying.” Percy’s smile widened at Nico’s laugh, one that was as uninhibited as he had heard so far. He wanted to hear that laugh more often, preferably with his also being the cause of it. “What are you laughing at, di Angelo? It was awful.”

            A peel of disbelieving laughter escaped his lips as he took a step closer to Percy. He didn’t notice his sudden proximity to the older boy, but Percy sure did, and he took full advantage of it, resting one hand on Nico’s side and pulling his body even closer. “You have nothing on me, Jackson. I have an older sister, that means I was forced into being her real life dress up doll from before I could walk until she just didn’t have time to torture me anymore.”

             Percy had slowly maneuvered Nico around him while he talked until he was being pressed against one of the closed lockers, Percy’s body mere centimeters away from his. “Mm. So she made you wear dresses?”

             The metal was cool on his back, the change in temperature finally alerting Nico to their change in position, but he couldn’t find it in him to care when Percy’s plush lips were so close to his own. He knew he probably should think more about what he was doing before he made any decisions, but thinking seemed so impossible with the way Percy was looking at him, like he was the most delicious and the most precious thing in the world at the same time. Nobody had ever looked at Nico like that before, and it was intoxicating.

            “Yes.” He whispered, eyes locked onto Percy’s lips moving closer to his own.

            He could feel each exhale of hot breath against his parted lips, tasting like vanilla and heat. Nico was shivering with anticipation each time Percy’s lips barely touched his own, but he would just pull away before Nico could even think about trying to turn it into a proper kiss. Nico’s gaze never broke away from Percy’s lips, but Percy’s eyes were firmly set on Nico’s own, watching him watch his lips. If the younger boy was to look up at that moment, he would see the lust swirling in his greens, but he would also see overwhelming affection for the smaller boy. But all he could see was the pink of Percy’s lips and the only thought in his head was how much he wanted to take his bottom lip between his own and bite down, turning that alluring pink into a deep red.

            “Now that is something I want to see.” Nico’s eyes widened in surprise. He breathed in a sharp gasp at the dark look plastered across Percy’s face. Before he could fully wrap his head around Percy wanting to see him in a dress, and, oh, what a wealth of images that gave him, Percy’s lips were on his own and every rational thought left his mind.

            Percy’s lips were surprisingly cold, much colder than they were when they kissed in the bathroom at that restaurant and the library. But they tasted just as sweet. He tasted exactly like how he smelled; sweet and with the sharp bite of salt, much like he knew his skin would taste. The green eyed Adonis was not hesitant in his movements this time, quickly turning the chaste kiss into something more hot and heavy.

            He could feel his tongue pushing against his lips and he wanted nothing more than to allow him entrance. Barely parting his lips, Percy swept his tongue inside his mouth slowly, allowing him plenty of time to pull away. When Nico moaned at the taste, he took it as permission to further his exploration.

            His tongue was slow in its investigation, taking his time to taste his gums and the backs of his teeth, rubbing sensuously against his own inquisitive one. Percy withdrew his tongue from his mouth and left it just barely brushing against his lips, like he was waiting for him to follow. So that’s what he did. Hesitantly, he stuck his own tongue out in an unsure way, not used to kissing after it had been so long.

            Percy pulled his tongue into his mouth and sucked on it, swirling his tongue around the muscle in his mouth in a suggestive manner. Nico’s knees went weak and he fell fully against the locker, Percy’s body pressing against his own and keeping him from falling to the floor. He felt Percy’s half hard cock rubbing against his stomach, the base of it just brushing the tip of his own erection.

            Nico moaned around Percy’s tongue, which had thrust back in his mouth urgently. He pushed his fingers through Percy’s wild locks and grasped him by the back of his neck, locking their lips together hungrily.

            He forgot all about the nasty lockers he was being pressed into and just enjoyed the feeling of Percy’s body rubbing against his own, the taste of his tongue dancing in his mouth for the first time sober.

            Cold hands slid down the side of his face, his neck, running over his smaller chest and lean stomach, stopping at the hem of his pants to push up under his thin t-shirt. A single finger made a circle around his belly button before continuing up to run over a nipple. Nico threw his head back from the kiss to gasp at the sting of Percy’s fingers pinching his slowly erecting nipple. He never knew his nipples were so sensitive, but hot damn, was that a nice feeling.

            Percy used the opportunity to move his lips sloppily down his jaw and then his neck. He left wet kisses down his neck, stopping to bite harshly at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Nico let out a pathetic whimper at the playful bite, hips thrusting in the air to get some sort of relief from friction, but Percy was denying him, pulling back from his body far enough where Nico couldn’t reach him. Nico whimpered in protest and the other boy chuckled darkly at it.

            He felt him pull back to inspect his handiwork and saw him smirk at the mark he left, which would surely be a garish purple by morning. Nico whined as pathetically as he could manage in his ravished state at the lack of contact, trying to entice the older boy to put his lips back on his body. Percy stared at him with hooded eyes and smirked, leaning in to lick a wet stripe up the side of his neck. When he reached his ear he sucked his earlobe into his mouth and bit down onto it ruthlessly.

            Desperate moans were flooding out of Nico’s mouth as the shell of his ear was being licked and bit. Percy’s hands, which were still tugging at his nipples, moved around and swept down his back, this time moving past his jeans to cup his butt. He pulled the younger boy into his body with his new leverage and crashed their lips back together, both of them moaning at the feeling of their cocks grinding against each other.

            Nico’s hands were thrown over Percy’s shoulders, one hand grasping his neck and the other clawing at his back. They were kissing frantically, breathing heavily through their noses and trading breathless whimpers. Nico was being louder than Percy, he knew that, but he couldn’t stop. It felt so right for Percy’s hands to be all over his body.

            It was only when Percy’s hands traveled to the front of his pants and attempted to unbutton them that Nico remembered his resolve to not get fucked into some sketchy locker room wall. With an effort he didn’t know he had in him, he pulled his lips back and breathed against the ear, not trusting his lips to listen to his brain if they were within kissing distance of Percy’s. “No, Perce…”

            He felt the body pinning him to the wall tense and then he was pulling back, still holding Nico by the hips but disconnecting all other contact form their bodies. Percy’s eyes were a mix of confusion and subdued lust, not understanding why he asked him to stop. “You don’t want…?”

            Nico laughed breathlessly at the concerned furrow between his brows, loving that Percy actually stopped to listen to him even though it was obvious he was beyond aroused by now. “No, no, not that. I do want…”

            A small amount of relief bled into Percy’s muscles and he started to run his hands soothingly up and down his sides. “Yeah?” He was grinning at him rather stupidly, but it was hiding so much restrained yearning that it was hard for Nico to focus on anything else but the erection he could feel again if he just moved forward maybe six inches. Percy spoke again and he forced his eyes from his manhood to meet his gaze. “Then what is it, babe?”

            A part of him melted a bit at the nickname. He allowed his own grin to spread across his face as he wrinkled his nose exaggeratedly. “Well, it stinks in here.”

            Percy’s face morphed into an expression of utter shock, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline and mouth forming an inviting ‘o’. Then he let out a loud peel of laughter, his head thrown back and exposing that long neck. His laugh was contagious and soon he was joining him, giggling foolishly and watching Percy melt years off his face, leaving him the carefree young boy from the picture.

            When his laughter finally subsided into silent chuckles, Percy leaned forward and rested their foreheads together, winking at the younger boy. “You’re right. It smells anything but pleasant. Give me a moment to change?”

            Nico nodded and pushed on the other boy’s chest to give him room to maneuver around his body to give him access to his locker. He situated himself on the bench as he watched the beautiful green eyed boy slip his shirt the rest of the way off. He saw another tattoo on his shoulder blade and more of the one running down his side, but before he got a good look, Percy had thrown on a light blue shirt with a Shark Week logo on the back. He would have to remember to trace every one of his tattoos with his hands and lips when he had the time.

            Nico moaned loudly when he bent down right in front of him to take off his jeans. His ass was not even a foot away from his face and Percy was doing it on purpose, he knew it, because could hear him snickering and then he was waving it back in forth playfully. Percy was wearing dark blue boxer briefs that clung to his ass like a second skin and it was taking all of Nico’s strength not reach out and grope them, pulling them down to get a peak at what lay beneath them.

            He snapped his eyes shut and spun around on the bench until he could no longer see any tempting part of Percy. “What, Nico? Weren’t you enjoying the view?”

            Groaning at the taunt, he was almost tricked into throwing a glare over his shoulder, but he stopped himself at the last moment, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to turn away again if he saw any part of the smooth expanse of skin laid out for all to see. “That was the problem. I was enjoying it too much.”

            Percy laughed at his response and then there were arms wrapped around his shoulders and a nose pressed against his neck. He breathed noisily in and a pressed a quick kiss to the side of his neck. “Well, show’s over anyway. Ready?”

            Nico nodded and stood up, Percy letting his hands slide from his shoulders down until he clasped their hands together, tugging him along.

            Exiting the building, he saw that night had fully fallen. Percy was moving them along as fast as he could with both of them still hard and aching. He didn’t bother asking where they were going this time, he couldn’t care less, as long as it had some sort of horizontal surface and was away from prying eyes.

            He plastered himself to Percy and left random kisses all over the broad expanse of his back and shoulders and the side of his neck, basically anywhere he could reach. They had only been walking for maybe two minutes before he ran into the body in front of him because he stopped walking. Percy turned around and attacked his mouth, biting at his top lip and wrapping his large hands around the backs of his thighs, right under his buttocks, and lifting him effortlessly.

            Nico was never one for manhandling before, but the way Percy had done it as if he weighed nothing, something about it left him breathless and yearning for more. So he just hitched his legs a little higher up around his waist and draped his arms over his shoulders, allowing his mouth to be plundered and explored.

            He felt Percy’s hand kneading his backside as he continued to walk backwards into a doorway, opening it loudly and bringing them into a room that Nico didn’t take the time to look around at. Before he knew it, Percy had dropped him onto some soft surface that he thought must have been a couch and then was covering his body with his own once again.

            As soon as he felt Percy’s warm weight on his own, he reached down and tugged the offending shirt off of the enticing body so close to his own. Percy followed suit and soon they were only left in their boxers, clothes strewn carelessly on all sides of the couch.

            Percy was ducking down to tug is nipples into his mouth, biting at them and laving his tongue across them. It was all Nico could do to grip his shoulders tightly and pant at the ceiling. He ran his hands up and down his back, palming the muscles available to him. “Percy…”

            He was desperate, aching for anything to give him relief, and Percy must have seen that frantic gleam in his eyes because he was suddenly pulling both of their boxers down and pressing their bare cocks together.

            Nico’s breathe stuttered when he was finally given the friction he was seeking. Percy was devouring the skin of his neck, giving the pale skin sharp, cutting bites, moving down to suck on his collarbone. He was no longer an active participant in his own body, too caught up in the pleasure Percy was eliciting from his body.

            A broad, tan hand ran down his abdomen to grasp both of their cocks, pushing them together and squeezing deliciously. Percy slowly stroked their cocks with unhurried movements, hand too loose and moving too slowly to get them anywhere near to release even though they were both right there at the edge. Nico’s hands were buried in Percy’s hair and in the back of his mind he wondered if he was pulling too hard and hurting him. From the dark moan that escaped Percy’s throat, Nico doubted the emotion he was feeling was pain.

            “Percy, please…” He was trying desperately to rock his hips with the movement of Percy’s hand but his weight was keeping his hips firmly in place, the only thing he could do was to allow the other boy to have his way with him.

            A few torturous strokes later Nico knew that if he didn’t come, he might actually explode. He tugged mercilessly at the locks twined between his fingers and wrapped his legs around Percy’s hips; doing anything he could just to get him closer god dammit! “Percy, PLEASE.”

            The green eyed young man let out an obscene moan at the tug to his hair and looked at the desperately writhing body underneath him. Nico had tears in his eyes he needed to come so bad. Percy didn’t say anything; he just kept staring into Nico’s haunting eyes and tightened his grip on their cocks, speeding up his motions.

            Nico’s blush spread down to his chest and his breathing sped up, eyes caught with Percy’s. He felt Percy’s cock twitch against his own and he knew the other boy must be close, just like he was.

            Percy’s hand was moving unforgiving around their cocks, setting a fast pace. He just couldn’t look away from those emeralds, so bright as they stared at him half-lidded, so full of lust. Nico felt his mouth drop open as Percy ran his thumb slowly over the glands under the head of his cock, then over the slits of both their cocks on the next upstroke, spreading the pre come down the sides.

            Nico shuddered when he felt Percy’s pinkie rub against one of the prominent veins on the side of his cock. All the while, they were staring at each other’s faces, panting and begging with their eyes to come. His thumb ran over the head of his cock again and he felt the familiar pull of pleasure building in his gut.

            He had just managed to whisper, “Perce, I’m gonna-” before he choked on his words and the tide came crashing down on him, the waves carrying him away to a place with only enough room for pleasure and nothing else. He spilled over Percy’s hand and onto his own stomach, eyes rolling back into his head and mouth falling even further open. He felt more than he heard Percy gasp and shudder against him and then he was joining him in his ecstasy, mixing their seed together.

            They lay there on the couch breathing heavily for a couple of minutes, trying to catch their breaths and slow their heart rate. Percy had fallen to the side of him but he was mostly still on top of him, his weight more comforting rather than constricting.

            Nico was getting drowsy and the hand pushing through his sweaty curls wasn’t helping him stay conscious. After a few more minutes of just enjoying their post orgasmic bliss, Percy pulled away to walk to the back of whatever room they were in. He returned with a couple of tissues which he used to wipe away the sweat and come from both of their bodies.

            Not knowing what else to do, Nico just watched him and enjoyed the view of a very much still naked Percy roaming the room. When he had thrown away the dirty tissues, he sat down on the edge of the couch and kissed Nico on the forehead, beaming down at him.

            “Well, should we get back to the party?”

          That threw Nico off a little bit. He frowned at the other boy and sat up, giving him a confused nod. “I guess.”

            Percy didn’t seem to see his discomfort and just gave him a cheery “great!” and started to pull on his clothes. Nico followed his example until they were both fully dressed and heading back toward the door. Nico was still frowning heavily, but gave an even more confused glare when Percy stopped him at the door, laying his hands around his waist and kissing the edge of his mouth teasingly.

            “Stop that. Everyone will just come looking for us if we don’t get back.” Nico looked at him suspiciously but he could see his point. As if sensing his hesitancy, Percy chuckled and rubbed their noses together. He winked at the younger boy and pulled away to whisper into his ear.

            “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to ravish you something fierce after the party. What do you say, give it another hour and then make our excuses? I’ll have you on your back and moaning in no time, sound good?”

            Percy was smirking at him confidently and Nico just rolled his eyes to downplay the blush he developed at his words.

            “If you promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, next chapter will be some of the actual party, as well as the last chapter on the party.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	12. Friday, August 29th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short but important chapter. Thank you all for being patient and I will update here in a couple of days regarding the next update.

            There were quite a few more people moving around under the moonlight than there was when they left. When they turned the corner to go back to their friends, their hands were still clasped tight together and Percy was tapping his fingers on the back of his hand to a soft tune he was humming under his breath, bumping their shoulders together and smirking at the younger boy with each fake glare he sent him at being jostled.

            But when the pulsating music could be felt in their bones and the flashing artificial lights from the party could be seen again, Percy squeezed his hand and sent him a last wink before running off to disappear into the crowd, telling him that he would be back soon.

            That was over an hour ago and he hadn’t seen him since.

            In that hour, Nico had managed to keep himself busy talking with his sister and Frank for ten whole minutes before deciding to go look for Percy for the next twenty minutes, meeting everyone in his new group of friends and every other person at the party that was not named Percy before realizing that he had a better chance of finding him if he wasn’t running around from place to place and just stayed still.

            So he found a concrete ledge that people were using as a makeshift bar and sat down in a lawn chair in front of it. And that was where he had been sitting, for over half an hour, hitting back shots like no one’s business and eyes perusing the gyrating bodies of wasted college kids in front of him trying to catch a glimpse of compelling eyes and plump lips.

            He refused to believe he was being stood up, not after the moment they just had. There was no way in hell that Percy would just hump and dump him like that. Heh, hump and dump. That was for some reason really funny to Nico’s tequila soaked brain. Which was strange in and of itself, he could have sworn he remembered promising himself he wasn’t going to drink that much. What happened to that promise? Oh yeah, he was being humped and dumped.

            Nico threw back another shot and glared at the fuzzy images moving before his eyes. He thought one of the blurs coming toward him looked like Annabeth, so he took a shot glass from the person seated next to him, ignoring their drunken protests, and drowned it.

            When his head tipped back down, Annabeth was standing next to him with an amused eyebrow raised but a concerned furrow to her brow. She reached out a slim hand and took the empty glass from his hand and put it on the ledge he was leaning back on. “I think you’ve had enough to drink. Nico?”

            He could lie and say he was looking right at her and listening to her every word, but honestly, his gaze slid somewhere off past her shoulder where he thought he had seen a shark on the back of someone’s shirt. Or maybe that was an actual shark he saw, wearing a hula skirt and drinking a corona. Maybe he should slow down on the shots after all.

            A hand grabbed him by the chin, squishing his cheeks together and forcing him to meet Annabeth’s stormy gaze. “Nico. Snap out of it, will you?” Her jaw was clenched tight and her lips were set in a firm line, and Nico would have flinched at the cold glare she was wearing, but it wasn’t fixed on him. No, her icy glower was directed over his shoulder. Why was she allowed to look over his shoulder but he wasn’t allowed to look over _her_ shoulder? Maybe he would be allowed to look over his shoulder too.

            Nico made a move to follower her stare, but Annabeth’s eyes snapped back to meet his, slight panic gracing her features before she relaxed her face back into a blank expression. Her grip on his face tightened instinctually to keep his head facing toward her. His lips were puckered like a fish and his eyes were bugging out of his head in surprise.

            He tried to grab her attention by calling out her name, but he could only manage a gurgled approximation to “a-ve-veth?” that couldn’t be heard over the sound of Natalia Kills purring about her sex life. Nico pouted at her and tried to cut his eyes to see what exactly was so fascinating behind him but she wouldn’t ease up at all. What if he had bruises in the morning?

            When he grasped her wrist and tried to pull it away from his face, she looked at him with that same wary expression and let him rub at his aching jaw. Her eyes were cutting between him and whatever caused her to adopt such a defiant stare, and when he finally got the opportunity to turn around, Annabeth was sliding behind his back and pushing him forward with rough hands. He was yelling at her, trying to figure out what exactly the hell was her problem, but she just kept shoving him through the crowd until they stumbled on a group of their friends.

            His sister was sitting on Frank’s lap, a beer in each of their hands. Leo was lying with his head in Calypso’s lap and Jason and Piper were leaning against each other beside the sleepy Latino. They were all huddled in a half-formed circle, leaving just enough space for Annabeth and himself to fit in, almost as if they were expecting them at any moment. Which was strange enough, but they were looking at him with the same slightly panicked eyes and downturned frown that Annabeth had when she found him at the make-shift bar.

            He narrowed his eyes at the sorrowful bunch in front of him. Something was definitely up. “What are you all looking at with those stupid faces?”

            His sister was the first one to react, plastering a fake smile on her face and jumping up from her position on Frank’s lap to take both of his hands in her own, pulling him down until he was a part of the circle. Annabeth slid in beside him, gracefully sliding to the floor and exchanging a significant look with Hazel over his head. He didn’t miss the silent conversation between the two females, but he was more focused on the fact that they were both tall enough to _have_ silent conversations over his head, which was completely unfair.

            “Nothing, Nico.” She was petting his hair, and even though he usually enjoyed it, he wasn’t comfortable with the others seeing him like that. He scowled at her and swatted her hands away, but he misjudged where she was and ended up smacking himself in the face. Thankfully everyone chose to avert their eyes and pretend they didn’t see him just make a fool out of himself. Seriously, how many shots did he take? He didn’t feel drunk, so that was a bad sign.

            Hazel withdrew her hands from his locks and gave him an encouraging smile. “We were playing Truth or Dare, we thought you might want to join us.”

            Leo raised his head up lazily and blinked at him. “Yeah. You totally missed it. Jason had to admit that he stapled his lip on purpose, Annabeth and Piper kissed, and Frank coped a feel on Hazel.” Nico intensified his glare and turned it on his sister’s boyfriend, daring him to confirm it. Frank looked like he was about to pass out from fear and Hazel was shooting daggers at the betrayer.

            Leo’s eyes widened and he glanced at his girlfriend, who was barely managing not laughing at his screw up, before stuttering to try to amend his mistake. “I-I, did I say _Frank_? I meant-I mean that _I_ coped a feel on Hazel.” Nico turned the full force of his glare onto the panicking boy and made like he was coming at him. Hysterical laughter accompanied the now scrambling Latino as he tried to hide from the angered younger boy by cowering behind his girlfriend. “T-That’s not what I meant! I-I-I would never, really! What I meant to say was that I coped a feel with Cally here, y’know, _my_ girlfriend.”

            Nico paused in a half-crouch from reaching out the strangle him and cocked his head to the side in suspicion. “Really?” He looked around at the other’s faces disbelievingly. They were all nodding frantically and beaming at him with their fake smiles, so of course he didn’t believe any of them.  He was lucky that he was pretty sure he would fail at throttling the other boy as much as he failed at slapping his sister’s hands away in the state he was in.

            Sighing, Nico sat back on his heels and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine.” He wasn’t pouting, of course he wasn’t. Leo slowly peeked around his girlfriend and sat back beside her when he deemed it safe enough to come out again. Calypso gave him an exasperated grin and grabbed his cheek playfully.

            Hazel cleared her throat and met her brother’s eyes, her blush still burning. “Anyway. Let’s play! Frank was the last to go.” The Canadian gave him a sheepish grin and waved. “So, it’s Frank’s turn to ask the next question.”

            Clearing his throat, Frank looked anywhere but at Hazel and Nico. “Uh, I guess, Leo?” The little imp smiled at him. “Truth or dare?”

            Leo lifted a finger to his chin as if the question was of vast importance. “Hmmm, dare! Because I am a macho-macho man after all.” They all giggled a little and even Nico, who was still fuming about his sister being treated inappropriately and Percy going off on an adventure and forgetting about him, managed to quirk an intrigued eyebrow at his answer. He might be interested in that story later, when he was sober.

            “Okay, so, I dare you to take your pants off. And leave them off for the rest of the night.” The group let out collective wolf whistles but Leo just shrugged and hauled himself to his feet. He shimmied out of his jeans and threw them over his shoulder, striking a pose like he was some underwear model.

            He sat back down to applause and slung an arm around his girlfriend. Nico was looking at him with his mouth hanging open, unbelieving that he really just took his pants off in front of all these people. “What?” He smiled at him mischievously. “It’s not like anyone will care, and besides, I don’t have to be drunk to believe it’s a good idea.”

            Nico had to admit that he had a point. Leo waggled his eyebrows and settled them dancing toward Piper. “Truth or dare, Pipes?” The Native American tugged on one the braids weaved into her choppy hair. “Truth for me, please.”

            “Is it true that Jason calls his penis Sparky?”

            Nico’s eyes just about popped out of his skull. Jason was turning an alarming shade of red while the rest of them were laughing so hard that tears were streaming down their faces. Piper was the only one who was controlling herself above the uproar, waiting with a patient smile until they could all settle down. Nico was astonished that they all could speak of such intimate things so nonchalantly. If he even thought of speaking about such things back home, Alex would have beaten him black and blue for being so callous.

            They eventually calmed down enough to wipe the tears from their eyes. Piper waited until it was all quiet before speaking. “No.” Disappointed groans sounded all throughout their circle. “But he likes me to call _him_ Sparky during sex.”

            Groups from twenty feet away turned to stare at them because of the volume of their raucous laughter. Even Jason couldn’t help but join in the merriment this time, red-faced and mock glaring at his girlfriend.

            Piper patted Jason’s face in a patronizing manner and turned to smirk at the instigator. “Back around at you Leo, still going with dare?” The gleam in her eyes promised revenge and Nico did not blame the guy at all for hastily shaking his head and choosing truth this time. Piper shrugged and looked at her nails. “Fine. Is it true that you say ‘flame on’ when you start to initiate sex?”

            Nico was sure that their little group was going to die of laughter if this was kept up. Leo was turning an even darker shade of red than Jason did, Nico wouldn’t be surprised if he literally burst into flames at any moment.

            Leo crossed his arms indignantly and made several scoffing sounds in the back of his throat that were probably meant to be interpreted as a no but came out as a resounding yes. Calypso put a hand on the back of the embarrassed boy’s neck and stroked it lovingly. She cleared her throat and pinched her boyfriend’s ear. “It’s totally true.”

            Nico could no longer see the clearly he was shaking so hard from laughter. This was way more information than he had ever wanted to know in friends, especially new friends. Laughing like this was not very compatible with how much he drank, Nico noted with a queasy complain of his stomach.

            The party resumed around them again, the people far more interested in their own conversations than those of their small gathering. Leo grunted to get all of their attention again. “Okay, okay. Let’s all laugh at Leo, I get it. Moving on.” His pout turned into an impish smirk that he directed at Nico.

            “New guy’s turn. So, Nico, truth or dare?”

            Now he was uncomfortable again. They were all staring at him so welcomingly though, smiling like they had known him for years and were truly glad that he was here at this stupid party, playing truth or dare with them. Nico sobered a bit at the warming sensation spreading through his veins. “Um, truth, I guess.”

            “Are you a virgin?”

            Just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Like ice being added to a warm drink, he turned frigid as a solid block of it settled into his stomach. His eyes dimmed and he tried to swallow around the hard lump that had lodged itself in his throat.

            _“Come on, you little bitch. Tell them all about how you just_ loved _to put out for me. I’m sure they would all just be dying to be friends with you if they knew what a fat, cock slut you actually are.”_

            The others were oblivious to his inner turmoil, waiting for him to answer with eager smiles. All except for Hazel and Annabeth, who were looking like they were waiting for him to run away. He had to admit he was tempted.

Instead, Nico just turned his eyes down to the grassy ground and whispered out a small “No”, not audible over the still blaring music. He shook his head as well, hoping that they would just leave it at that.

            Leo was halfway through a wolf whistle when Calypso hit him hard in the stomach with the back of her hand, effectively shutting him up. Everyone else seemed to notice the shift in Nico’s mood and grew quiet accordingly, and even Leo understood what was going on after glancing around at his unusually somber bunch of friends, shutting his mouth with an audible pop and glancing guiltily at Nico.

            Nico wasn’t looking at him though; he wasn’t looking at any of them. The grass beneath his feet was the most fascinating grass he had ever set his eyes on. So he plucked at it and tore the blades into little pieces until he had a nice pile of pseudo-lettuce covering his denim clad knee.

            Someone cleared their throat and the whole group turned to stare at Frank, who had stopped coughing and was just grasping at his throat, frozen with everyone looking at him. He awkwardly lowered his hand back to his lap and gave a hesitant smile. “Sorry.”

            Leo acted like he wanted to giggle at him for breaking such an awkward moment in such an awkward way, but he made an effort to look contrite again at his girlfriend’s raised hand. Every single one of his new friends were looking anywhere but at Nico, and he knew that there was no way that they all new about his past, at least not any of them except for Hazel, but the way they were all avoiding looking at his face, pretending they couldn’t see him, it hit too close to home.

            His heartbeat sounded too loud in his ears, and even that could barely be heard over the sound of his harsh breathing. He couldn’t breathe, only pulling in shallow little puffs of acidic air into his rapidly fluctuating lungs. The world was spinning and Nico couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or if his world was actually whirling him away into oblivion. The last option seemed far more appealing.

            He could hear Hazel calling out his name but she sounded far away, like she was shouting at him from behind thick glass windows. People were staring at him now; not just his friends, but other people at the party, looking at him with concerned or fearful faces.

            When did he stand up? He didn’t remember, but he wasn’t sure he was going to be standing for long, not with the way he was swaying with the rolling motion of his vision. It felt like he was caught in a tumultuous wave, lost in the ocean under the pressure of the water, drowning him and pulling him further under the current. Everything was muffled and he thought for sure that he was getting sea sick. Could someone even get sea sick when they were under the water?

             Everything was blurry, colors mixing together and shapes becoming irrelevant. Nico whipped his head from side to side slowly, moving like he was stuck in molasses. Stuck in molasses under the sea, cloying his lungs and pores-that was what he felt like.

            Nico slowly turned around in a circle, looking at all of the people looking at him, trying to meet the dark smudges where he knew their eyes were meant to be but his focus inevitably sliding off to the side to look through the next blotch of muddied color. He passed blurred image after blurred image until his eyes finally landed on a figure more solidly formed the others clouding his vision.

            There was a small break in the crowd, and that was the crevice that he spied the bright figure through. Nico blinked owlishly a few times, trying to get his vision to focus. The figure slowly became less fuzzy the more times he blinked, but the others remained blurs of mutated shapes. It didn’t matter; the bright figure in the distance was the only one that mattered to the disorientated boy.

            The bright spot of color was in the form of a man, tall and slim and muscular, warm, inviting skin, shaggy hair, bright eyes and a smile that shone more brightly than the moon overhead and the neon lights streaming from the various portable light machines randomly scattered throughout the park combined.

            Alex.

            Nico’s stomach churned in an awfully confusing way, like there were thousands of tiny butterflies fluttering around inside his intestines, knocking into his internal organs painfully, leaving him wanting to throw up from excited nervousness and uncomfortable alarm. He felt happy and terrified for his life at the same time, the cruelest divide between pleasure and pain.

            He didn’t know if he wanted to run up to him and hug him or run a knife through his chest. But he knew that he had to get to him, no matter what happened, he just had to at least see him again up close, touch him, kiss him, ask him to forgive him. Show him that he lost some weight, see?

            Then those bright blue eyes were staring right at him, glinting dangerously. His mouth didn’t move but Nico could still feel his words caressing his skin from the short distance between them.

            _“Well? What are you going to do about it?”_

            Unwelcome air rushed into his lungs when he inhaled sharply at the stab of pain and longing he felt at hearing his voice, so similar to the one he hears almost on a daily basis but sounding so much more real. Nico sputtered trying to get the air back out of his lungs, not ready for breathing again if it meant losing sight of his beautiful nightmare so close in front of him.

            Nico took an unsteady step forward, Alex’s image fading out like a TV losing signal before coming back into focus after more blinking on Nico’s part. His image came back, but it was darker, his golden locks dimmed quite a few shades and his smile now absent. When he made to take another step in his direction, Alex’s image faltered once again, not turning blurry, but like he was morphing into someone else. That wouldn’t do. He stopped mid-step, his foot dangling in the air and holding his breath.

            Alex smiled at him when he put his foot back down next to the other, choosing not to take that step. Nico wanted nothing more than to keep that proud grin on his face, but there was something chilling about it that kept him from returning it. It was like a shark in bloody water, swimming through the molasses sea he was drowning in, coming up on his prey, confident because he knew he had Nico exactly where he wanted him to be.

            There was a pressure on his arm, hard like a vice that forced him to reluctantly tear his eyes off of his…his…what was Alex to him anyway? Another demanding squeeze and Nico looked doe eyed down at the hand on his arm before looking up into Annabeth’s stormy, pleading gaze. Then she spoke.

            “Nico, don’t.”

            Everything slammed back into reality then, full color and picturesque as it was before. Nico could still feel his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage but the music and the sound of chattering people could be heard over the sound of his breathing. Annabeth was looking at him with wide eyes, no longer trying to hide the concern behind her emotionless mask. She was shaking her head at him, frown creating lines in her usually smooth forehead, every wrinkle pleading with him to listen to her.

            Nico furrowed his brow in confusion at the panic so openly displayed on her face, and this time when her eyes darted behind him, he jerked his arm out of her grasp and turned to face what horrible thing that was causing her to look so downtrodden for him, wondering if somehow she knew and that Alex was actually here.

            Oh.

            He found Percy. And the guy whose throat his tongue was thrust into.

            Oh.

            His world was no longer spinning. It stopped. The noise, movement, the very breath in his lungs. Everything just…stopped.  Everything but the two in front of him.

            Nico didn’t notice anything about the guy clinging to Percy other than the fact that he was a guy and that his grubby hands were pulling Percy’s face down into his own. No, he was looking at Percy.

            Percy, who had his hands resting comfortably in the front pockets of his jeans. Percy, who was doing nothing about the seemingly random guy clutching at his cheeks and invading his mouth. Percy, who was allowing this other guy to dance around him. Percy, who was maybe enjoying the other guy’s lips on his own, lips that were not Nico’s. Percy, who was smiling around those lips that were not Nico’s and who was probably inviting the other boy back to that stupid room with the couch in it.

            Stupidly, Nico was missing Alex. At least he knew what was going on between them when they were together.

            His view of Percy and the mystery whore was interrupted by a worried face surrounded by frizzy, brown hair. Hazel was looking at him intensely. He stared back at her blankly. They stared at each other. Why was everyone always staring?

            She reached out to take his hand and that was when the emotions bubbled over.

            Nico’s face twisted into a rage, tears marring his vision and a growl escaping his throat. He yelled at her, loud enough to cause a scene. “Don’t touch me!” Hazel was looking at him hurt, not understanding why he wouldn’t let her comfort him. He hated that look on her face, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

            His shoulders were heaving, breath fast and nauseating. “Nico…” He spun around to glare at the source of the gentle voice trying to reach him. It was Annabeth again, looking more human and caring than he had ever seen her before. “Please, it’s not what you think.”

            Nico scoffed at her and felt rage boil under his skin. “Not what I think? How could it not be what I think?”

            Annabeth’s eyes hardened slightly, but remained calm and spoke in a tender voice, calling out to him like he was a wild animal, cornered and ready to attack. He supposed the description wasn’t too far off. “No, it’s not-”

            “Oh, shut up!” He yelled, some spittle falling onto his chin with the force of his outburst. “Why are you pretending to care anyway? You don’t even like me!”

            Her lips thinned at his accusation. “You shouldn’t speak of things you know nothing about.”

            “That’s rich! Don’t feed me that bullshit. The fuck if it matters anyway, I’m done.” As quickly as his stomach let him, he whirled back around only to almost run into Hazel, who was still standing there blocking his way. He’d feel bad about the way he shoved her out of the way later, but for now, all that she was to him was an obstacle on his way to get back to his car.

            When she was out of his way, he couldn’t help but to look back in the direction that he saw Percy at. He wasn’t there, and neither was the guy he was with. Well, he hoped the couch was hell on that asshole’s back.

            Nico walked as fast he could out of the zoo, only getting lost a few times before finding his way to the correct parking lot where his Baby was parked. He could barely see because of the tears spilling down his cheeks, but even with the tears, he hadn’t had any more alcohol since before the start of their little game and he had sobered quite a bit, especially after the emotional rollercoaster he had just hopefully disembarked from.

            So Nico knew there was no way in hell that he was imagining Percy leaning up against the driver side door of his car. He stopped in his tracks to stare at the older boy, maybe five feet of distance between them.

            After several uncomfortable minutes of the impromptu staring contest, Percy cleared his throat and reached out a hand to smooth down the hood of Nico’s car. “Nice car. She’s a beauty.”

            Nico didn’t say anything back. He just kept staring at the boy leaning up against his car so casually, like he had every right to be there. He didn’t try to wipe away the tear tracks on his cheeks or try to stop them from falling down his nose.

            “Nico?” Percy pushed himself off the car. Nico’s eyes flashed dangerously. Percy fell back on the door.

            The sounds of the party could be heard faintly in the background. Nico could hear both of their breaths, escaping out into the strangled atmosphere of the night. A car honked form the highway. A coupled passed them laughing a couple rows away.

            Silence reigned supreme.

            But the silence was never Nico’s friend and this particular silence was suffocating him. He could hear Alex chuckling in the back of his mind, begging him to find a way to screw this up even more than it already was.

            He took a deep breath and set his eyes on the fabric covering Percy’s chest, moving past him to shove his key into the door of his car. When he had unlocked it, he tried to open the door, but Percy’s body weight was too much for his slim frame to move. “Move.” He grunted.

            Percy just leaned further back on the door, trying to catch Nico’s eyes. “Are you okay to drive?”

            “Fuck you.”

            “It would be my pleasure.”

            Nico’s shoulders were shaking as he tried to ignore how close Percy’s body heat was. His reflection was glowering back at him in the window, seething with anger and shaking with hurt. Nico felt more broken now than he ever had. “Just please move.” A little more snappily, he added “Why don’t you go back to dancing? It looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

            Percy pushed himself back off of the car, out of surprise or hurt or confusion, Nico didn’t care. He took the opportunity to heave his door open and throw himself inside, hoping to slam it behind him. Before he could fully close the door, Percy’s hand shot out and grabbed the window, stopping him from shutting him out.

            He tightened his grip on the door handle but stared resolutely ahead. When Percy spoke, his voice was indecipherable. Nico couldn’t tell if it was because it was emotionless or because it had too _many_ emotions brewing beneath it. “Jealous?”

            Jealous. Was Nico jealous? He didn’t feel jealous. Not anymore. He just felt…done. Very, very done with everything at the moment. Yes, that was what he was. Done, but not jealous. Jealousy would entail him feeling insecure and fearful, and that didn’t sound like Nico at all.

            “No.”

            Percy withdrew his hand. Nico slammed the door, started up the car, and drove away. he didn’t look at Percy in the rearview mirror and he pretended he didn’t see the hallucination of Alex sitting so pompously in the back seat of his car.

            Nico drove down the streets of New York blindly, not paying attention to where he was going, relying only on instinct to get him back to SOCU. He absent mindedly wondered if Grover would be able to find himself a ride back, but he had to focus on his driving when he drifted into the other lane and almost had a head on collision with another car. They honked at him and he straightened himself out again.

            He told himself that he was fine to drive, because he was. He couldn’t see to drive and the alcohol was still making his vision a little swimmy, but he needed to drive, to get away.

            He needed to get out of there. Out of his head. Away from Percy. So that was what he was going to do. He was going to drive and he was going to drive until he was far enough away to not be bothered. Then he was going to find the nearest hidden area and he was going to throw up every last bit of food and excess fat he had consumed in the last twenty-four hours, and hope that it will be enough to make Alex disappear for a little while. Just long enough to clear his head again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	13. Saturday, August 30th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, no joke, I wrote the majority of this shacked up in the Laundromat in my pajamas, eating sushi and drinking grape soda, in the early hours of the morning because it’s the only free time I have to do my laundry. Many a piteous glance was thrown at my broke college student ass from the few people who were still awake and roaming the streets at this ungodly hour.  
> On a happier note, this chapter is all fluff, unicorns, and sunshine! If your definition of fluff, unicorns, and sunshine is depression, self-deprecating thoughts, and resignation. Seriously, I don't want to give anything away, but just be warned, there is some pretty disturbing stuff in this chapter.

      There was a quiet beeping noise persisting through the otherwise static silence. The barely conscious part of him acknowledged that the sound was something that he should pay attention to, but his sleep addled mind decided that it wasn’t worth his time. He went back to sleep, the beeping slowly fading until silence persisted once again.

 

* * *

 

      What felt like hours later, another noise penetrated the thin veil of sleep he was hiding behind. It was humming, a short burst of vibration that tickled his mind, and then it was gone. It sparked up every few minutes, just giving him enough time to almost drift fully back to sleep before alerting him again. Just when his irritation was about to spike and his mind decided it was time to shake off the last dregs of sleep, blessed silence returned. He went back to sleep, a small frown marring his face in place of a quiet smile.

 

* * *

 

      Too soon after the annoying buzzing gave way, yet another sound pulled him away from sleep. The sound closely resembled the beeping from earlier, but it was sharper, more insistent. The screeching was slowly grating on his nerves, and ever so slowly, his eyes opened to squint in exasperated confusion at the tip of his nose.

     Dark eyes moved lazily from side to side as his brain tried to catch up with the rest of his body. Leisurely, he moved his body into an upright position and yawned, stretching cat-like to work the kinks out of his body. His neck ached as he turned to glare down at the phone lying beside him, the source of the annoying beeping. He stared at it, not quite sure what he was supposed to do to make it go away.

     The noise stopped. He blinked down at the device in confusion. Why did it stop? He wanted it to stop, but he didn’t mean for it to go away by itself. Perhaps he scared it away.

     A sharp inhale of breath through his nose allowed cool air to circulate through his body, speeding up his awakening. That cold air also smelled disgustingly like sweat and vomit, which gave him the final push to finally become aware of his surroundings.

     Nico grimaced and let out a small whimper at the suffocating pressure in his head, bringing his hands up to cradle his tender temples. Every part of his body ached. He smelled like alcohol and vomit, and his mouth tasted even worse.

     He was also freezing, only wearing his boxers and a thin t-shirt. Looking down at the exposed skin of his chest, he noticed a little bit of what he assumed was dried vomit and drool. Throwing up sounded like a nice idea, although he doubted his head would appreciate the retching.

     With trembling hands he reached out to flick at the crust adorning his chest, small flicks of his nails trying to scrape off the foul substance stubbornly clinging to his skin. There was something almost poetic about it, Nico thought. He put it there, so he should be the one to get it off. It would be rude of him not to, obviously. And if there was one thing Nico was, it was conscientious.

     Or maybe he was still drunk. He did take that half empty bottle of vodka from the guy passed out against the wall next to the door of the motel room he rented for the night. And chugged it.

     He sighed and continued to scratch at his chest. Looking around the room, he felt even more disgusted at himself. It wasn’t like he had high standards or anything, but he usually at least had some kind of standards. Which apparently the Nico of last night chose to disregard.

     The room itself was small and plain, with glaring white walls, stained brown carpet, and sketchy looking holes in the corners. The bed he was sitting up in had yellowed sheets and a pea green comforter that scuffed at his bare skin. The pillows didn’t even have cases on them. He would count himself lucky if he didn’t catch something by sleeping with so much naked skin showing in them. His pants were inside out and hanging on the only other piece of furniture in the room besides a small, lopsided table; a stiff looking armchair the same color as the dirty floors.

     He should probably get up and wash his mouth out, shower and put on some clean clothes, maybe eat and take something for his headache. He should probably take his keys and make sure Baby was okay outside of this shady motel. He should probably go back to the University and finish the readings he has to do for Monday, get together with Hazel for a study session for the Economics test he has that coming Friday.

     Except he doesn’t have a toothbrush or mouthwash or clean clothes with him, and he doubts the room comes with complimentary shower utensils. Except he doesn’t have any aspirin and he knows that there is no way his stomach would let him keep down any food at the moment, even if he felt like eating. Except he can’t find the motivation to actually care about Baby’s condition, for the first time since his nonno gave her to him, and he definitely doesn’t have the drive to think about his grades.

     The trilling starts coming from the speaker of his phone again, but this time he recognizes that it’s telling him that someone is calling him. Numbly, he reaches out and takes it into his hand, pressing down on accept call and holding it gingerly a couple of inches away from his ear. “Hello?” His voice sounds robotic even to him, but that’s something else he doesn’t have the energy to care about at the moment.

     “ _Nico?_ ”

     “Yes?”

     “ _Why didn’t you answer my texts? Or accept my last call, for that matter?_ ” Bianca was annoyed with him, he could tell by the way her voice was trembling from the effort not to yell at him.

     “I’m sorry”, was all he replied with.

     The other end of the phone was silent for a few minutes and he almost hung up to go back to sleep, but then his sister spoke again, sounding less irritated and more concerned. “ _Did you just wake up, Nico? It’s three in the afternoon._ ”

     “Yes.”

     Silence again. He decided he liked the silence. It was nice. It hadn’t been quiet inside his head for a long time, and maybe it should have concerned him that everything was so quiet, but he only felt relief. Perhaps it meant that he had finally broken, completely and irrevocably. He doesn’t feel broken; in fact, he doesn’t feel anything. He wonders if this is how crazy people trick the doctors in asylums to letting them out because they’re ‘cured’. By lying and letting go of all emotions externally and internally; not letting anyone see how you feel, not even yourself.

     “ _Nick? Are you okay, bambino?_ ”

     He flinched at endearment his mother used to call him. He didn’t want to think about her and how disappointed she would be of the person he became, of how disgusting he is. “I’m just tired,” he lied, “it was a long night.” That was not so much of a lie.

     Bianca still sounded guarded when she spoke again, but he could tell she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. “ _Okay, okay. So…how was the party? Tell me_ _everything!_ ” Even with the phone held away from his ear, her excited screeching was almost too loud for his throbbing head.

     The party. How was the party, and tell her everything?

     “It was a lot of fun.” Especially the part when Percy led me away from it so that we could rut at each other pathetically. “I hung out with a lot of my new friends.” Because Percy ditched me after we were intimate together. “I didn’t drink that much.” I drank way too much, trying to drown the pain at the expense of my liver.

     Bianca hummed and interrupted him. “ _And how was Percy? How did that go?_ ”

     “It went fine.” It was a disaster. “Percy is great.” Percy is a lying, two-timing player. “I’m great.” I hate myself for being so stupid.

     “ _Well, that’s awesome, Nico! I’m so happy for you. Do you need me to drive all the way down there and give him the big sister talk?_ ” Her laugh sounded out of place in the dense air of the motel room.

     “You don’t have to worry about me, Bianca.” I don’t want to burden you. “I can do this.” I can’t do this, I need you, Bia. Can’t you hear me?

     “ _Nico?_ ” She sounded worried again. His voice must have been more hollowed than he thought. “ _Are you sure you are okay?_ ”

     Is he okay? No, he wasn’t. But he couldn’t tell her that, he couldn’t burden her the same way he burdened her those few short years before.

     “Yes. I am fine.” Lying to others and lying to yourself is the true key to happiness. “I have to go.” He didn’t wait for her to reply. He just ended the call and placed it down on the scratchy comforter, staring down at the illuminated screen. It showed a picture of him and Bianca when they were younger, hanging out in one of the countless hotel rooms their father drug them to, playing Mythomagic. The younger version of himself still had bags under his eyes, but he looked happier. Bia looked miserable, as she was being forced to play his ‘childish’ game with him.

     Usually looking at that picture would make his heart feel lighter, thinking about his sister. But now he just felt guilty, and he didn’t feel like feeling. He turned the screen off and put it back on the bedside table, turning on his side to face away from it and the window where light was streaming in. He wasn’t tired, but he thought maybe he would go back to sleep anyway. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

 

* * *

 

      Saturday passed by in the blink of an eye to Nico. Maybe it was the fact that he didn’t wake up until three, and fell asleep again so soon after that, but it was like the day never even happened. He managed to drag himself out of the room after his call with Bianca and napping for another twenty minutes, but only to give the manager of the place all the money he had in his wallet to let him stay for the weekend. It probably wasn’t enough, but seeing the empty, slightly deranged look in the young man’s eyes seemed to convince him to accept the offer anyway. He was asleep barely two minutes later, crashing face-first into the musty duvet without even taking his shoes off.

     When he woke again, it was dark in the room and no light coming through the windows. His phone had been blessedly quiet, but that was probably because it died. Even if he had his charger with him, he doubted he would revive it, choosing to instead isolate himself from the rest of the world for just a little bit longer.

     He didn’t know what time it was, but it wasn’t like it mattered. He didn’t have anywhere to be and he certainly didn’t have any plans on leaving the motel room, much less the ridiculously uncomfortable bed, for the remainder of the weekend.

     But just because he wasn’t going to leave the room didn’t mean he knew what to do while being boarded up in it, either. Sleeping was out of the question. He felt like he had just gone on a sleeping marathon for the past two weeks with how stuffy his head felt. He didn’t bring anything with him besides his phone, wallet, and car keys. His phone was dead, his wallet was empty, and his car keys were useless since he wouldn’t be leaving the confines of the yellowed walls.

     So what was he to do besides turning on the old box TV facing the bed, barely balanced on its rickety stand and looking more like it would start an electrical fire if he attempted to mess with it?

     For a long time, he watched boring infomercials, mind numbing cooking shows, useless weather reports, and episode after episode of some agitating show on law that threatened to fry his brain. His eyes were trained on the flickering images the TV barely transmitted to him well after the sun rose and set again, longer than was probably healthy for his eyes or his sanity, but he hadn’t been worried about keeping his sanity intact for a long time.

     When he did fall asleep again, it was to a muted, black and white western flashing long shadows on the walls, the remote lying on his stomach and one hand pressed to his chest. His sleep was troubled, mostly due to the constant rumbling of his stomach, but it was an ache he was long familiar with and easily ignored.

 

* * *

 

He had been awake for hours, staring listlessly at the broken shutters of the window where, gradually, the comforting void was slowly breaking into soft light, yellowed and fuzzy. There was something so fascinating about how the dark slots between the moldy slats slowly burnt gray, then lightened to a warm buttery glow, coloring the room in a gummy haze.

     It didn’t feel suffocating like he thought it would, but rather it felt like drowning in gooey caramel, pleasant and sweet and salty like taffy. It felt like it was inviting him to lose himself in its cloying rays, to just forget about everything and everyone, and writhe in creamy ecstasy forever. Mmm, salt, caramel, butter, taffy. That sounded so good.

     It smelled good, too; a whole lot better than the faint smell of vomit that still clung to the bed sheets. Maybe he should get up and find some food. Salt water taffy and soft caramel bites, maybe some dark brewed coffee and a blueberry muffin. His stomach growled and he looked down at it lazily.

     He blanched.

     Since when did his stomach curve out like that? Since when was his skin stretched tight under his bellybutton? He poked at it with a finger and froze again. His fingers were always short and stubby, but when had they become so thick and meaty? His eyes trailed up his arm in horror, gaping at the useless fat hanging from his underside of his biceps. From there, his eyes trailed to his chest, heaving and stuttering, crying out at the grotesque chicken fat drooping from his underarms and the prominent pudge of fat covering his abdomen.

     He climbed off the bed gracelessly, feeling weighted down upon standing on his own two feet. With heavy, thundering footsteps, he made his way to the small bathroom. His thighs, fatty and shuddering with each step, rubbed together disgustingly, creating gritty friction. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, like that gooey caramel was gripping him tight in its sticky fingers and refusing to let him move.

     When he reached the bathroom, he collapsed on the broken sink, holding himself up with shaky arms and flipping on the light switch to illuminate the bathroom in florescent yellow, a steadfast buzzing emitting from the overhead bulb. The mirror was cracked in the corner and was molted like someone had tried to set fire to it. He settled his hips against the jagged edge of the sink, swollen and achy, and stared at his reflection in revulsion.

     Dark eyes stared brokenly back at him, wet and puffy, red rimmed, glaringly obvious bruises thumbed underneath them. His hair was greasy, limply falling from his scalp in weak strings. The weak light streaming from above his head cast dramatic shadows across his face, his cheeks doughy and pasty, making him look like that fourteen year old kid again, scared and lonely.

     Tears slipped down his cheeks when he glanced behind him and saw a cruel smile over his shoulder. Warm hands gripped his shoulders harshly and pulled him back against a hard chest, breath ghosting over his ear and stinging his flesh. He was staring helplessly at the lips brushing against his ear in their constant motion, whispering at him, telling him all the things he needed and didn’t want to her.

     The hands shoved him forcibly down to his knees in front of the toilet and pushed his face into the brim of the bowl, holding him there as he emptied his already bare stomach into the bowl. Stomach acid burned his throat and slipped down his chin, but he just kept heaving until only his muscles were contracting, the retching threatening to break his ribs.

     Cold fingers grasped his painfully, grinding the bones together, and brought his hand up to his own mouth, rubbing his fingers through the mess on his lips. His body convulsed again at the smell, but there was nothing left for him to give. Lips brushed the top of his head, tickling his hair, and then they were gone, gone with the rest of the warm contact on his body. They left with only the faint smell of peppermint and the hushed sigh of good boy…

     He crawled back to the bed, pathetically pulling himself under the thin sheet and resting a protective hand over his stomach. Sleep was beckoning him, sleep and its sweet promise of blocking out the world. So he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the crumby goo and the corners of his lips. Good boy…

 

* * *

 

      When he wasn’t sleeping or pretending to watch crap TV, he was staring at the shutters of the window, the stains on the floor and the spider webs on the walls. He was brushing his hand back and forth along his stomach and running to the bathroom to throw up more stomach acid, waiting for signs of his stomach fat receding that never came.

     There was insistently annoying knocking on the door when the supple morning light gave way to the bright heat of the fully risen sun. When it didn’t stop, he drug himself out of the bed and flung the door open weakly, not even bothering to throw on clothes.

     The manager was standing in the door angrily. He looked passed Nico, holding himself up against the doorway, and into the room. It wasn’t like the room was anything to boast of before he rented it, but it was clear that the acrid smell of his vomit was evident even from the other side of the door, judging by the disgusted twist to the older man’s face.

     “Look kid, it’s Tuesday. You only paid for the weekend, you gotta leave.” Nico looked at him uncomprehendingly, more looking through him than anything. When it was clear he didn’t plan on answering the man anytime soon, the manager reached out a hand to touch Nico’s shoulder. Before his hand could make contact, the raven haired boy twitched violently and wretched himself away from the man, cowering like he was afraid he was going to hit him.

     The older man paused at the fierce reaction he got, hand frozen in midair. The kid looked like he hadn’t eaten in days, which he doubt he had since he hadn’t seen him leave the room since he came in Saturday to pay him. The kid gave him a measly sum of fifty-three bucks, not nearly enough for him to stay the entirety of the weekend, but he looked desperate so accepted his cash in exchange for a room key.

     When Monday came and he didn’t drop the key off at the front desk, he almost went to the room and demanded he leave. But Ariadne, his daughter who worked for him as a cleaning lady, said she saw him through the window, sleeping and barely looking alive, so he took pity on the kid and let him stay for another night. But he had a business to run, and that meant having his rooms available to rent for paying customers.

     But just because he was a business man and money ruled his life, it didn’t mean that he didn’t have a heart. When the kid jerked from his grasp, it was obvious that he had been through a lot. He looked half starved and closer to death, shivering and withdrawn, like he had no idea what was going on around him. He couldn’t kick him out after seeing how pathetic he was, it would be like dropping a sad puppy off at the slaughter house.

     The kid turned around to grab his jeans off the floor and returned to the door holding an expensive looking ring in his skinny, breakable fingers. It was shaped like a skull and had red jewels, rubies he bet, in place of its empty eye sockets. Trembling fingers held out the expensive looking ring to him, eyes trained on the ground.

     The manager sighed and gently took a hold of his thin wrist, frowning at the flinch he received at the small action. He pushed the kid’s hand back until it touched his own bony chest and then let go, stepping back from the door. “My name is Minos. I don’t want your ring, but please eat something, kid.” He didn’t get a reply so he turned on his heel and headed to his office. When he looked back, the kid was still standing in the doorway and staring at the ring in his hands.

 

* * *

 

      Nico did eat something. He went to the broken vending machine around the corner to his room and kicked at it until it let down two bags of chips, a brown soda he didn’t care to read the brand of, gummy worms, and a small thing of peanut butter crackers. His stomach was obviously used to the pleasure of eating everyday again, so he was surprised he made it this long without anything. He shuffled back to his room, almost hissing at the sun, and proceeded to stuff his mouth with the unhealthy snacks, following it all down with warm soda.

     He sat on the edge of the bed, stomach rolling and groaning at him in protest at the sudden invasion of nutrients into his system. Even though he felt anything but satisfied after eating, he basked in the full feeling for a couple minutes, before throwing himself down on the bathroom floor and letting it all out. He stayed there until his stomach was throbbing with emptiness once again. Crawled back to bed. Fell back asleep.

 

* * *

 

      Nico stayed at the motel for the rest of the week. The manager, Minos, came by twice a day after their tense meeting what was apparently Tuesday morning. Nico based his days on his visits.

     He would come when the sun was highest in the sky and just after it set. Every time he came, he brought food and drink for two and sat down in the armchair while Nico lied on his side on the bed and watched him eat. He would talk about the weather, what he was like as a young man, his business, his family, but mostly about his daughter who was apparently the cleaning lady that had been checking on him. Nico never engaged in the conversation just like he never got up to eat with him.

     When he left, Nico would lie still until he knew for sure that he was gone, and then he would get up and eat the cold portion of food he left on the table. He would allow himself to enjoy it for only a few scarce minutes before making sure he got rid of it again. And then he would curl back up on the duvet and sleep until the next timeMinos came.

     Nico wasn’t sure why the older man was doing it, but he wasn’t getting any creeper vibes from him and he was allowing him to hang out in this for free, so he indulged him for his short visits which never lasted for more than thirty minutes. Ariadne came by too, coaxing him out of the bed and into the armchair so she could put his dirty sheets through a quick wash. She left him a toothbrush, too, which he was grateful for even if he didn’t have anything to use but cold, rusty water on it.

     He felt an odd sort of kinship with the friendly manager and motherly housekeeper, but he never opened his mouth to speak to them. He acknowledged them with a nod of his head and small twitches of his lips that might have been smiles but looked more like grimaces, made sure to make eye contact when they were looking at him and listened to them when they spoke. He might not have participated in the conversation, but the company was enjoyable nonetheless.

     When they would leave and his stomach was sated and devastated again, and he was falling into the world of Morpheus, he would dream. He dreamed of green eyes and warm hands, a hot tongue and cold feet. He dreamed that long, elegant fingers scraped down his sides with blunt nails, over and over again, until blood would bloom from their trails. Smoldering flesh would pierce into him, brutal and exactly what he needed, while teeth would sink unrelentingly into the tendons of his neck. He dreamed of vanilla and the sea, building him up and breaking him down.

     He would wake up hard and wanting, rutting feebly into the grimy sheets. Sometimes he would finish himself off with a few clumsy strokes of his hand, other times he would shy away from the offending evidence of his weakness and rush off to the bathroom, completely revolted with himself, and would heave until his dick stood no chance of hardening again.

 

* * *

 

     The sun had just set not too long ago and the knock at his door he was expecting finally came. He went to answer the door with surer footfalls than he had in a while and almost smiled at the sight of Minos and Ariadne beaming at him from the other side, McDonalds in their hands.

     Nico stepped back and went to lie down in his usual position for their little meetings, but he startled a little when he felt a hand lightly rest against his arm. Ariadne’s soft hands didn’t make him flinch anymore when they rested upon him, but it still made him nervous.

     He looked back at her and chewed on his lip, but she just smiled at him reassuringly and led him to the table where Minos was setting their food out. She ushered him into the armchair and they both sat across from him in the wooden desk chairs that they brought in when they started eating with him regularly.

     Nico sat stiff as a board in the uncomfortable armchair, unsure of what he was expected to do. When they just went about as they always did, digging into their food and chatting with each other and at him casually, he allowed himself to relax minutely back into the chair. He hesitantly reached out and grasped a fry from the pile that was set in front of him, chewing and swallowing small bites until the fry was gone, replaced in his fingers with another. Before he knew it, the fries were gone and his hands had a salty aftertaste.

     Halfway through their meal, Minos and Ariadne seemed to come to quiet understanding and stopped eating at the same time, putting down their burgers and turning to face Nico with stoic, regretful looks on their faces. He obviously wasn’t wrong for being suspicious.

     “Look, kid…” Nico had never told them his name and they never asked him for it, maybe because they didn’t think it mattered either way or maybe it was their way of respecting his privacy. Minos was looking at him with the same pitying look he had when Nico tried to offer him his ring as payment for letting him stay. “You should go home, or go wherever it is you’ve been staying.”

     He knew that this had to be coming. No matter how kind he was for letting Nico stay for as long as he did without paying, he couldn’t expect him to let him stay there indefinitely. Besides, he knew he was being cowardly by avoiding going back to the University. It was probably time for him to man up anyway. The only problem was that he didn’t feel like much of a man at the moment.

     “Sweetie.” He didn’t know why she called him that, but it was kind of nice. “We just think that it’s time for you to go back to your life for a bit, yeah? Won’t they be missing you?” At Nico’s blank stare, Ariadne turned to look pleadingly at Minos. The man glared back at her and shrugged his shoulders.

     Nico’s eyes shifted uncomfortably between them, watching them grunt and jerk their shoulders at each other in a silent conversation. Ariadne apparently won the argument because she gave a triumphant smile and raised an eyebrow at her father challengingly. Minos sighed and turned his eyes back to Nico.

     “Son, it’s not that we are kicking you out, but we just think its best that maybe you go face whatever you’ve been hiding from. You are always welcome back if you need to, kid, but I’m hoping you won’t need to come stay with us like this again. It’s been over a week.”

     Ariadne was nodding along to her father’s words, her hands twitching like she wanted to reach out to him, but knowing it probably wasn’t the best thing to do. “Is that okay, sweetie?” Nico looked at her, taking in the sad affection she obviously had for him, and then looked back at Minos, who was looking like this whole conversation was paining him. They were right.

     He gave a small nod and then stood slowly from the table, turning away from them to lie back down on the bed. He heard them gather up their trash and start to leave. Before they were completely out the door, Nico raised his head to look at them briefly over his shoulder, raising his voice just enough for them to hear him. “Nico.”

     Minos looked confused but Ariadne was beaming at him and shaking her head in understanding. “Goodbye, Nico.” She took the door knob and firmly closed the door behind them, leaving Nico in the room by himself.

     He laid there for a long time, just staring up at the ceiling and contemplating what he was going to do. Minos and Ariadne were right, he knew that. But it was so much easier said than done.

     He could no longer hear the traffic coming from the roads by the time he got up. He took a shower, cold and unsatisfying, brushed his teeth and then dressed in the clothes he hadn’t worn in a week, but that he knew Ariadne had washed the day before for him.

     His keys were in the ignition and he was driving down the freeway before he knew it.

 

* * *

 

    It was late by the time he got back to the University, late, or early, enough that even the college kids were all asleep. He parked Baby in front of his resident hall, giving her an apologetic pat on the hood for abandoning her for so long.

     He silently made his way up to his room, unlocking the door and hurriedly throwing himself inside. It was dark in the room and he could hear Grover’s insistent snores coming from his side of the room. Nico felt his way in the dark to his bed. He kicked off his pants and buried himself under the covers.

     He would see about what he was going to do tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we’ll see how Nico is going to face seeing everyone again after The Incident, Uppercase absolutely necessary. There will be an update in the next couple of days with the date the next chapter will be posted.  
> P.S, I do not own McDonalds or any other commercial enterprises I might mention in this chapter or throughout the entirety of this fic.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	14. Monday, September 8th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END. DON’T MISS IT. Unless you don’t want to actively participate in the story, then that’s fine, go ahead and skip it.
> 
> (This note is no longer relevant, but it is still available to see.)

            Grover was gone by the time Nico rolled out of bed. He didn’t get much sleep that night, mostly he just tossed and turned restlessly with endless thoughts of what he was going to do the next day and the day after that and all of the days after that racing through his head. He knew that running away and pretending it had never happened, that he had never left California and moved to New York, that he had never met a certain green eyed bad boy that rocked his world and left his head spinning, that he had never might have maybe a little bit but not really completely fallen in love with yet another guy that was bound to break his heart, was not an option. But that didn’t mean that he was not seriously considering it.

            He was, after all, a big fan of running away from his problems. When his father decided to grace him with his unholy presence, Nico would lock himself away in his room or drive out to the beach for an entire day, and well into the night. When Alex crushed his heart and threw him away in a metaphorical pile of trash for him to fester in, Nico hadn’t gone to school for weeks. When Bianca started to notice his less than healthy eating habits, he refused to talk to her about it until she forcibly held him down and demanded him to trust her. Hell, the reason he moved to New York in the first place was because he wanted to put as much distance between himself and all the pain he left behind in California.

            Nico’s whole life was dependent upon isolation and fake realities. It was what he was used to. It was his daily routine to put on a mask and play into everyone else’s expectations and follow the guidelines of what he had to do to fit in.  Then when he was alone again, he would leave the mask on and continue to pretend that his everyday interactions weren’t a lie and that yes, he has friends, and yes, his boyfriend cares about him. He hid from himself for so long that he wasn’t sure if the mask would ever come off, or if it had morphed itself so completely that it was a part of him now. He was more afraid that he didn’t want to take it off.

            He was tired of running away, though. It was exhausting and he didn’t know if he could stand moving back to California, or anywhere else for that matter because without a doubt, that vicious cycle would start once again. Minos and Ariadne were right; it was time to face his problems. If he stayed, then maybe this would be the last cycle of uprooting his life he would have to go through. So it was almost as if Nico was conquering his fears and facing the challenges presented to him head on if he stayed, and yeah, he liked the lie he chose to tell himself. He was strong, that was why he was pulling on clean jeans and slipping his feet into his boots, grabbing his backpack to head to class. Not because leaving would mean never seeing bright eyes and tousled hair and inked arms again. He wasn’t that weak.

            He hesitated before opening the door, hand suspended above the door knob, his reflection gleaming weakly back at him. He let out a wavering breath and told himself not to think about it. Walking back over to his bed, he kneeled beside it and pulled a box to the front where he had it hidden behind the curtain of his bedspread, pulling it from the shadows and bringing it into view in the dim morning light.

           His fingertips traced the edges of the lid lightly, the grooves of the cardboard scratching at his skin familiarly. A lump formed in his throat when he pushed the lid to the side, but he ignored it. He wasn’t thinking about it.

            Quickly, he pulled a piece of black lace from the pile of fabric and material in the box and slipped it into the front pocket of his jeans. Time wasn’t on his side, but it was comforting knowing that it was tucked within the fold of his clothes even though he couldn’t take the time to use it correctly.

 

* * *

            He was almost expecting the room to go quiet when he stepped into the little theatre, where his inaptly named Study period was held. He waited for a hush to fall over the unruly college kids, for pointed stares or frantic gossiping. But it never came. People were still engaged in their trivial conversations that were not about him, Mr. D was still drinking copious amounts of grape soda and complaining loudly about how he was shafted out of his hopes and dreams by being forced to supervise over-privileged children, and no one glanced up at him when he opened the door or stood there silently staring out over their heads. It wasn’t like they were ignoring him, either; they looked like they honestly did not notice his entrance.

            But he didn’t look for long, because as soon as his eyes settled on the outrageous curls of Hazel’s hair and Grover’s multicolored beanie, he dropped his eyes to his shoes, because he knew that green eyes were soon to follow. Barely glancing up to make sure he wasn’t going to lose his knee to an unfortunate desk collision, he zigzagged through the crowd until he found a seat far into the back corner of the room, plenty of space between him and the nearest warm body and only two other chairs nearby. Without delay he kicked his feet up into one and set his bag on the other, effectively ensuring that no one would consider plopping down next to him.

            Not until he was settled comfortably into the highly uncomfortable wooden chair, a book he had no intention of actually reading lying out in front of him and one hand resting soothingly over his pocket, did he dare glance up to see if anyone had spotted him. His luck be damned, Hazel was coming over to him, a concerned frown marring her face that would make Shredder want to comfort her.

           There wasn’t anything he could do but let out a resigned sigh and put his feet down on the floor. Predictably, Hazel fell heavily into the chair his feet just vacated and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a suffocating hug. It wasn’t that her warmth didn’t feel amazing or that her arms weren’t calming, but he couldn’t find the energy to lift his arms to return it.    

            She didn’t seem to care, though. Not three seconds after she pulled him into a hug, she pushed him back at arm’s length and promptly smacked him across the face. It wasn’t the hardest hit he had take by far, but the fact that it came from his sister stung more than the blow, even though he was expecting it. Before the blood could rush to his injured cheek, she was pulling him into a hug again.

            His head was still spinning from the emotional rollercoaster of her actions that even if he wanted to return the hug, he doubted he could have added the brain cells together in time to do so. She pulled back from him just as fast as before and he was almost expecting to be hit again. Instead he looked up to see Hazel wringing her hands together and biting her lip at him in distress.

            “I’m sorry, Nico. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but you should have called me! I was worried sick when you didn’t come back by the end of the weekend, just jumping out of my skin when you didn’t show up to class on Monday, and pacing every time you didn’t answer the phone. And then you don’t show up until the next week? And Bianca…”

            Nico’s eyes snapped up. His breathe hitched as he stared at her panicked, betrayal sinking into his eyes. Hazel gave him a small smile and shook her head. “You’re lucky I didn’t call her. Believe me, I was going to, but I knew that you would be upset if she was worried.”

            He let a long, slow breath and nodded his head at her in gratitude, not trusting his voice yet. Hazel was staring down at her lap, lips pressed into a hard line and eyebrows pinched. When she looked up again, he forced himself to meet her gaze. “Where were you, Nico?”

            A hard lump in his throat was making it hard for him to swallow. He knew he should tell her, but there was no way that she wouldn’t freak out about him staying in a seedy motel, not eating or moving, for the entirety of the last week. He couldn’t tell her where he was just as he couldn’t tell Bianca that he managed to find himself another Alex.

            A vicious voice snapped at him from the back of his mind, scratching at the walls and hissing at him for comparing Percy to Alex.

            Hazel was waiting patiently for him to talk, looking at him with her big, warm eyes, completely judgment free and honest concern shining in their depths. He couldn’t hurt her. He felt the mask slip itself further into his skin and maintaining a poker face was no longer a problem because he wrapped his emotions up and slapped a bow on it, throwing it into the deepest crevice in his mind.

            “I needed a break from attending class. I was feeling a little sick and swamped with all of the work I have to do, so I decided to turn off my cell and just relax. I kept up with my teachers, professors or whatever, don’t worry.”

            Hazel’s eyebrows pulled together even further at that. She looked confused, but not like she didn’t believe him. “But where were you?”  
            “Nowhere, I was here.”

            If her eyebrows were pulled together as far as they would go a second ago, then they were as high as they would go now, disappearing into her hairline. “Nico, Grover said he hadn’t seen you all week, and I came by plenty of times looking for you and you were never there.”

            “I took a break from class, not my work. I’ve been focusing on getting things done, so I’ve been getting up early and not coming back until real late, sometimes not until the early morning hours. Going to the library and stuff.”

            Now she looked downright pissed. “You shouldn’t be out that late and getting that little sleep. Calypso said she hasn’t seen you either, though?”

            Shit, Calypso, library, right. “I’ve been going to one off campus.” Yeah, smooth lie, Nico.

            One crisp eyebrow fell back down as the other stayed in its place by her hair, and he was seriously becoming fascinated by the dance her eyebrows were doing. “Right, off campus.”

            He nodded and continued before she could say anything else. “Not just the library, but just out in general. I looked around some, not late at night, and stuff like that. Don’t worry, I was careful and I’m fine. I’m going to class again. Sorry I wasn’t there when you were looking for me and for not answering the phone, but I feel better now.” He had to stop himself from rambling, afraid if he said too much, he would just sound even more unbelievable.

            She still looked like she didn’t believe him, but that was the great thing about Hazel; she seemed to know when he just couldn’t talk about things and left well enough alone, unlike Bianca, who would make it her life mission to find out what was wrong and not rest until it was resolved.

            Hazel looked at him for a couple of tense minutes before giving him a slow nod and a whispered “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

            He thought that she would leave then to give him the privacy he obviously wanted, but she wasn’t feeling generous that day apparently. Instead of giving him a concerned pat on the shoulder and a short “love you” and then going to join the others on the other side of the room, Nico watched in dawning horror when she turned to wave a hand in the air, signaling the others to join them.

            One by one, they gathered their bags and, to his utter disbelief, their chairs, and made themselves right at home in the crowded back corner of the theatre. He nervously started to shove his hands into his pockets, but he swiftly removed them when his hand made contact with delicate material, focusing reluctantly back on the group of people he didn’t invite to sit by him. They were all chatting like they hadn’t just moved complete sides of the room to sit next to a boy who disappeared from the face of the earth for over a week. None of them were really looking at him. Their eyes were passing over him like he wasn’t there and they were trying very hard to avoid looking in his direction at all.

            The only people besides his sister looking at him directly were Annabeth and Percy. The intensity of their gazes was enough to burn a hole through his head, but he refused to look at either of them, choosing to hold Hazel’s golden eyes with his own. He willed her to continue to hold his stare, but she gave him a small, apologetic smile before casting her eyes down. He was left with no choice to rest his eyes somewhere else, not being able to handle the look of guilt marring her girlish features.

            Unwillingly, he shifted his head to the right, where his eyes locked onto Annabeth’s, her usually stormy gaze blank. Her golden locks were pulled back into a loose pony tail today, tucked under her Yankees cap. She was wearing a loose t-shirt without any makeup on, and the change from the last time he saw her left him staggering. Mostly because she was still so beautiful even at her worst, and Nico felt the familiar dregs of jealousy blossom in his chest. Then he remembered that she wasn’t the one who he had to be jealous of anymore. In fact, he shouldn’t be feeling jealous at all, since jealousy is an emotion and he thought he locked his emotions up nice and tight.

            Even if he didn’t really consider her an outright enemy anymore, he couldn’t hold that unnerving gaze for a second longer. Not when she was staring at him so emotionless, like she couldn’t decide for what reasons she was looking at him. She didn’t look smug, but she didn’t look concerned like she did that night either.

            He was spared from prolonged torture when her eyes cut to the stoic form next to her. The only bad thing was that his eyes unwilling followed hers and then he was looking right at the object of his wet dream and worst nightmare. His face was just as unreadable as Annabeth’s, but for completely different reasons.

            His face was a mess of emotions. He somehow managed to appear completely normal while still looking like an absolute fucking wreck. His lips were pressed into a thin line that removed all rosy color from their usual plush pout. His natural impeccably tanned skin was slightly sallow like he hadn’t been getting enough sun, and the bags under his eyes were trying their damnedest to beat out Nico’s in the ‘utter defeat’ category. The worst of all were his eyes; normally so bright and dancing with mirth, they were now two steps from being shattered. An array of emotions kept flitting across his face, there and gone and replaced before he could fully recognize them; happiness, relief, guilt, sadness, anger, confusion, and hurt were a few of them, and he wasn’t even sure if he really saw them or not.

            Suddenly Nico felt angry. What right did Percy have to look at him so brokenheartedly? After everything that happened, after the way he used him and left him, after he blatantly hooked up with that  other guy right in front of his eyes and acted like there was nothing wrong with it, what goddamn right did he have to look at Nico like he was the one in the wrong here? Like Percy was the victim and Nico was the bad guy who crushed his heart without a second thought?

            No. Fuck that. He might have deserved everything Percy did to him and so much more, but that did not give him the right act like he was hurt by this. If anyone had the right to look heartbroken, it was Nico, and he was doing a damn fine job of acting like he wasn’t. So Percy could shove his bullshit straight up his ass, because he was having none of it.

            Abruptly, Nico broke their eye contact and stood from the table, roughly shoving his chair backward and awkwardly stumbling over it in his haste to shove his book into his backpack and get away as fast as possible.

            Before he could step away, Hazel gripped his elbow tightly. She opened her mouth but Nico cut her off before she could speak. “Don’t.” He was planning on elaborating and maybe even doing an impromptu soliloquy on how he was perfectly fine, but had no intention to sit there and pretend that everything was fine while being stared at like he just set a basket of puppies on fire, but he was exhausted. He was too physically and emotionally beat to be socializing with other people civilly. If they wanted to play like the night at the zoo never happened, then that was completely fine with him, shit, that’s what he was planning on doing in the first place. But he refused to let himself be made into the bad guy here.

            He walked away from the table and out of the theatre, ignoring his sister’s pleas and the concerned murmurs from his ‘friends’ who were all but flat out ignoring him not two minutes earlier. Study hall is a stupid class anyway.

            His pace was just on the slow side of running as he made his way back to the freshman dorms, passing bustling students in the staircases trying to get to class, until he made it back to the safety of his room, relief washing over him in being alone again.

            The door closed with a thump as Nico fell against it. His heart was beating erratically, threatening to burst right out of his chest in its struggle to keep up with his lungs as they inflated and deflated in quick succession. Limbs shaking, he supported himself against the door as his body raged on in chaos, face blank and appearance calm and unmoving. He was the picture of neutrality from an outside perspective, but on the inside, he felt like he was spiraling out of control.

            With a strangled moan, he pulled the thin fabric from his jean pocket and buried his face in it. All semblance of energy flew out of his body and he slumped to the floor, body wracking with sobs he could no longer control. He would be strong later.

 

* * *

             Hazel was conflicted. She knew her brother was lying about where he had been, but if he didn’t want to tell her his business, then she had to respect that, even if she only wanted to know because she was concerned. He had never been able to hide what he was feeling from her for very long, and even less so from Bianca. And she knew that he was hurting. She could see it in his eyes, which had always been like pieces of reflective glass, impenetrable to most but easily see-through to those who know what they are looking at.

            She had known Percy for years now, and was comfortable with calling him one of her best friends. He was easy to get along with and very likeable, always overly friendly with everyone and fiercely loyal to his friends, genuinely caring for every person he meets. She had yet to meet anyone who disliked the young man, except if one counted Mr. D, but she thought he secretly liked him as well.

            But Nico was her brother. It didn’t matter that they were only technically half-siblings or not, him and Bianca were the only family she had left. As much as she liked Percy, Nico came first. She had been furious at the green eyed idiot when she saw what he was doing with Luke, right there where Nico could see at that.

            She wasn’t mad because Percy was with Luke, though. No, she knew that there was nothing going on between the two old friends. What happened was probably what always happened when Luke had too much to drink; he drank too much so he doubtlessly got into another fight with his boyfriend Octavian, so he drank some more and then kissed Percy, whom he had a relationship with way back when, she was told. Getting close to Percy was a sure fire way to rile Octavian up, even though he knew as well as everyone else did that Luke and Percy had established  a long time ago that they worked better as friends.

            It was nothing new for her to see Percy being used as a device to make Luke’s boyfriend jealous, nor was it new to anyone else at the party. Everyone but Nico, that is.

            Annabeth was the first one to notice. They tried to distract Nico long enough for Luke to get what he wanted, but it seemed like Octavian was being stubborn. Percy, the loyal, clueless, endearing idiot that he was, just acted his part for as long as Luke needed it. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t think about what that would look like to Nico, and she made it quite clear exactly what she thought of his seaweed for brains that night, Sunday, and two other times throughout the week with a firm hand to the cheek.

            She couldn’t blame him completely, though. True, it was mostly his fault, but they were both being idiots. They were both complete morons when it came to their feelings for each other. Nico had every reason to be wary of Percy because of his past, and Percy still had problems expressing emotion. He was rash, shy, unconfident, and lonely. He deserved someone who he could count on, that would be there for him like no one else could. She didn’t even know who she was referring to anymore, just that they were so similar that it was becoming painful for her to watch them pussyfoot around. She would never understand why boys were so difficult, why it is so hard to just come out and say that they like each other. She told Bianca as much, and they decided that it wasn’t their place to tell him all of this. They had to meet each other half way.

            That was another reason why she was feeling so crappy. She called Bianca as soon as she realized that Nico was gone, which was Sunday afternoon after Grover told her that he hadn’t seen him since he left the party on Friday. She felt bad about lying to him about that, but she needed to know what was going on and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

            She was ecstatic when Nico came through the doors, even if he ignored them and went to sulk in the corner. She wasn’t expecting anything less, really. Even when he lied to her face and pretended that everything was okay, she wasn’t surprised. So she thought she would push him a little, just to see how bad it was. It wasn’t a full minute later that he stormed out, but at least now she knew that it was worse than what she had initially thought.

            Punching Grover’s shoulder to get his attention, she sent him a steely glare. “Why didn’t you tell me he was back?” Grover gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed delicately at his shoulder. “Sorry, I figured since he was back that he would show up for class. You didn’t have to hit me, though. I was going to tell you if he didn’t.” Hazel rolled her eyes but nodded at him. She wasn’t mad at Grover, not really.

            She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fore and middle finger, glancing sideways at Percy agitatedly. He looked back at her with that sad seal expression plastered on his stupidly good looking face. Sighing, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Bianca.

            _He’s back. It’s bad._

            Not thirty second later her phone was vibrating against the tabletop. She pressed it against her ear and immediately an answering voice was responding back to her short greeting.

            _“What happened?”_

            “He said that he never went anywhere, that we were just missing him all the time.”

            A loud snort transferred statically over the line. _“Bullshit.”_ She snorted as well. “I know. But what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t call him out on it.”

            _“I wish he would have just told me, but that’s Nico for you. How bad is it?”_

Hazel’s eyes darted over her group of friends. They were all being very polite and trying to give her some privacy. All except Percy, who was staring at her with that same devastated look on his face, like she was about to tattle on him to his mommy. She glared a little at him and he had the decency to look contrite and glance away. She could tell he was still listening, but she couldn’t blame him. “It’s bad.”

            It was silent on both ends of the line, filled only with the slight crackle of the connection that acted like it was having a hard time keeping them hooked up. Percy was drawing random patterns on his arm with his finger while trying to be discreet about glancing up at her out of the corner of his eyes. It was really hard to stay mad at him while he was acting so cute, but she knew he was doing it on purpose.

            Bianca sounded determined when she answered. _“Put him on the phone.”_

            Hazel scrunched her nose in confusion. “Nico left. Do you honestly think I would be having this conversation with him right next to me?”

            She sighed loudly. _“No, Haze, Percy._ _I know he’s there. Put him on.”_

She sat straighter in her chair, glancing at the boy in question nervously. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Bianca sounded pained, but she knew that she was probably right. “No, you’re right. He needs to know.”

            _“Yes. He needs to know.”_

            Hazel sighed again but nodded, even though she couldn’t see her. She held the phone out to her friend and glared at him until he took it. He looked downright frightened, as he should be.

            He held the phone up to his ear slowly and breathed out a quiet “Hello?”

            _“Percy. We need to talk.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shredder, in case you do not know, is one of the main antagonists in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and film adaptations. Seriously, go watch the 90’s TMNT movie; it is a thousand times better than anything Michael Bay will shit out on his best day.
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE: I am going to leave it up to you guys to decide whose point of view the phone call between Percy and Bianca should be written in. Since I need time to actually write it, I will leave the poll open for a week. Any vote after October 11th will, unfortunately, not count.   
> (this poll is no longer active)
> 
> Okay! See you guys in a couple days where I will reveal the next update day.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!   
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	15. Monday, September 8th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, on the road again. Sorry it is so late, but I had classes and an essay to finish, and then my parentals decided to engage me in a phone call that lasted over an hour. And then on top of that my laptop decided it would rather be sacrificed to satan than work and allow me to update, so I am doing this from my mobile. But it is still the 31st where I am, so as promised, the next chapter is here. Unfortunately, I seriosuly overestimated how much time I had to write this month so the chapter is quite a bit shorter than I had anticipated. The chapter I had originally planned to update will probably be split between three chapters, meaning the narrative might be a little slow but the updates will be closer together. I'll talk more on that later, but for now, enjoy The Phone Call, Part One.

    Okay. So he knew he was in trouble. It was fairly obvious that he had messed up, and he realized that. He had taken every harsh word and scalding glare from his friends bitching at him with an ashamed recognition that what he did was wrong and that he needs to get his head out of his ass and apologize and make up for his “seaweed brain mistakes”. He tolerated the occasional slap over the head by Annabeth, because there was honestly nothing new about that, and almost welcomed the well timed blows that Hazel had landed on him throughout the week. She was small but don’t let that fool you, she packs a punch that rattles his teeth. He was pretty sure that bruise was still fading from his jaw.

     Everyone had made it perfectly clear exactly what they were upset with him for, some more gentle about it than others. Annabeth was mad at him for not thinking about how Nico would see his kissing Luke as anything other than sexual or romantic interest, a point which she elaborated on for almost half an hour on the thousands of other ways he could have handled the situation followed by a stinging slap and a frustrated sigh. Hazel was pissed at him for choosing Luke over Nico, and also for a million other reasons that he couldn’t quite catch because she started yelling at him in French so he just sat there and accepted that whatever she said was absolutely true and yes, he was a total jackass. Even if he missed most of her rant because the only language he spoke was English, it was plain what she felt about him. He had the bruises to prove it.

     Frank would silently look at him, pained and apologetic, stepping back and letting his girlfriend put in her two cents and her two fists. Leo pinched his cheeks and looked him dead in the eyes and said “You stupid son of a bitch, does Mama Leo need to bake you some cookies?”. Calypso had pried her boyfriend’s hands off of his now burning cheeks and tutted at him, “I don’t think he deserves your burnt cookies after his little stunt.”

     Even Jason had pulled him aside for a man-to-man talk about how stupid he was being that ended in a much unexpected threat on his life if he ever did anything to hurt Nico again. He didn’t even realize they were so close, but he was glad the young man had a good guy like Jason looking after him.

     He wasn’t as stupid as a lot of people thought he was, but he had to agree with them on this one. He had made a stupid mistake and he needed to fix it. Preferably before Nico decided that he wasn’t worth the trouble and refused to forgive him or give him the time of day. Yeah, that would be nice.

     But it looks like he was going to have to find a way to keep his other sister from killing him first. He didn’t know much about Bianca besides what Hazel had told him over the years and what Nico whispered shyly out. From what he heard, though, she was fiercely protective of her siblings, especially young Nico, and was smart as a whip and had a tongue that was twice as fast. He felt like they would get along if they were ever to meet, but this was a crappy first impression she was getting of him.

     Her accent was thicker than Nico’s, but not by much, and her voice was smooth and deep and calm. She sounded as beautiful as Nico did, and he wondered absentmindedly if they looked much alike. He would have to ask for a picture. However, she sounded as terrifying as she did beautiful, strained like it was taking every ounce of her control not to trek across the country to beat his ass raw. It reminded him of his mother’s voice when she lovingly told him to clean his room or so help her God no one would ever see him again.

     The silence stretched on as he tried to think of the best way to reply without sealing his death sentence. She didn’t say anything and he wasn’t even sure if he heard her breathing, and it was starting to make him uncomfortable. Especially because his friends had abandoned all acts of not listening to his conversation and were staring at him with wide eyes, some filled in pity and some in amusement. Mostly pity, because Annabeth didn’t count.

     He shot a pleading look over at Hazel but she just raised one of her eyebrows and looked airily away. Taking a deep breath, he tried to let it out slowly, but he might have done it a little too fast because he was choking on some of his spit and coughing like a moron. His hand flew up to his mouth as he tried to calm down, but he didn’t think about taking the phone away from his ear until Hazel physically ripped it from his hand and slapped him on the back a few times.

     His friends were laughing at him, Leo almost in tears, and even Annabeth was looking at him with that smile on her face that meant she was trying not to join in. Hazel was the only one not laughing, but even she had to crack a small smile. “Percy, are you kidding me? Just calm down and take the phone. She’s not that bad.”

     The last of his cough finally went away and he took the phone back with a sheepish smile. He just had to go for it. Surely she was an understanding person. When he spoke, his voice came out a little higher than normal, but at least it was even and stutter free. “Uh, hi, hello, Bianca, uh, hi there.” A hand collided with either of his shoulders and he returned the glare Annabeth and Hazel were sending him. “Ow!”

     There was a sigh over the phone and he felt bad that she must be thinking so little of him. She was still eerily calm. “ _Are you going to be able to give me your full attention or should I just put out the hit now?_ ” He almost believed she would.

     “No, no. I mean yeah! I can pay attention. I mean I will pay attention. Uh, please don’t kill me?” He was making a fool out of himself. Where was his charm? His suave? He wasn’t prepared for this situation. Hazel was looking at him like he was a piece of meat thrown into the lion’s den, Annabeth pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering to herself, and all of his friends were still laughing at him.

     Bianca sounded like she was gritting her teeth. “ _Perseus_ …” He sighed and stood up from the table, waving his friends off. “Hold on, just please, give me a minute.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and promised Hazel that she would get her phone back later. Mr. D was busy playing some board game at the front of the room so it was easy to slip out the back and into the hallway. He made his way down the long hallway until he reached outside; not saying a word until he was sure his breathing was under control.

     He looked around to make sure no one was around to hear his chastisement. Sure, no one would know what was going on just by looking, but he could still feel embarrassment gathering in his cheeks. Bianca had every right to let him have it and he knew that he deserved it, but that didn’t make it any easier to take it. It was the same thing when he was younger and had gotten in trouble. He knew his mom was going to spank him whether he liked it or not, but he couldn’t help but flinch when she told him to _come here, young man._

     Sally Jackson was the most loving and caring woman that he could ever ask for as a mother, but he probably made it harder on her than he should have when he was younger, always getting kicked out of schools and getting into fights. He was glad his mom had found Paul because he made her happy and out in a good word for him at Goode, which is the push he needed to straighten up his act. Academically only maybe, but what his mother didn’t know kept him from having a heart attack. School never agreed with him, but Annabeth and some of his other camp friends went there, so he gave it a shot. He befriended some of the best people he could ever ask to know there and he finally found enjoyment in school. Enough for him to not only want to go to college, but for him to enjoy it too.

     “ _Percy Jackson, I don’t have all damn day._ ”

     He swallowed nervously. Exhaling shakily, he closed his eyes and knew he just had to rip the band aid off in one go. “Yeah. I’m here.” He could hear her sighing on the end of the line, sounding soft and exasperated and maybe even a little amused, or was he just projecting that because right now she sounds just like Nico does when he breathes out his name in that way of his, like he can’t decide if he wants to strangle him or pat his head adoringly, when all Percy wants to do is to lean forward and count every last one of his eyelashes while laying a kiss over his cheeks with each one he adds. When he tilts his head down and lowers his eyes in embarrassment, trying to hide the color rushing to his cheeks, all Percy could think about was if it spread down his chest. “ _Percy, are you listening? Perseus?_ ”

    _‘Perseus…What am I going to do with you?’ Nico was looking at him over the top of his book, his eyes bordering on lustful as he smiled slowly at him. His fingers, shorter than his own but beautiful, brushed over the top of the book Percy was reading, tapping the cover as he arched a playful eyebrow at him. ‘This is upside down, kelp head.’ Percy feigned surprise and looked down at the book like it had bit him before shrugging and darting his eyes down to continue to pretend to read it. Nico’s laugh was like his first Christmas, all tinkling bells and wonder and shining tinsel. He wanted to bottle it up and—_

_“I swear on whatever is still holy in this world I will hang this phone up and forbid you to see my brother ever again if you do not give me your full attention right this second, am I perfectly clear?”_

     Percy winced and gave the phone a wry smile, looking sheepish and apologetic even though she couldn’t see him. It’s not like he could tell her that he keeps spacing off because all he seems to think about anymore is her ridiculously adorable little brother. That might not go over well considering the circumstances. “Yes. I’m sorry. I’m just nervous, I guess, you know?”

     She snorted loud in his ear. “ _Oh, really? What reason could you possibly have for being nervous?_ ”

     “Uh, maybe because I’m about as sure as I was when I was four years old and told everyone that I could talk to fish that you are about to chew my ass a new one and then somehow hire a band of assassins to kill me in the most slow and painful way possible?”

     “ _Is that what you’re certain about?_ ”He counted it a small victory that she sounded less strained and more amused.

     “Yeah, I’m pretty damn certain. And let me tell you, I was a very creative toddler and I’m still not sure that I was imagining those fish talking to me.”

     Her laugh even sounded like Nico’s, except his was higher pitched and quieter, like he was telling you a secret that only you were allowed to hear. “ _I’ll admit you’re cute. But your cuteness isn’t getting you out of this one._ ” He muttered his assent and waited for her to speak again. He felt like he owed it to Nico to hear his sister out and be a man about it.

     When she spoke again, he could tell that her annoyance was winning out in the struggle of her deciding if she liked him or not. He couldn’t blame her; he didn’t like him much at the moment either.

     “ _I don’t want to be all big sister speech, ‘what are your intentions with my brother’, but…”_

     It was silent for a few awkward seconds before he realized that yeah, that was exactly what she was asking. “But ‘what are your intentions with my brother?’” Her musical laughter sounded taught again. “ _Yeah_.”

     He sighed and ran a hand down his face. How he supposed to verbalize this? If anything, he should be talking this out with Nico, not his sister, but he knew that she needed to know probably just as much as he brother did in a sense. If this was his little sister they were talking about, gods forbid, he would do everything in his power to make sure she was happy, even if it meant killing a few million people more.

     “I don’t know, Bianca. I mean, I like him, okay? But I like a lot of people and I’ve only known him for a few weeks. The truth is I don’t know all that much about him and what I do know probably doesn’t count as knowing a person to most people. But I want to know him. Isn’t that good enough?”

     He was beginning to think the silence was killing him. “ _Yeah, Percy. That should be enough, but it’s not. Not with Nico. Not right now._ ”

     “Why not?” He couldn’t wrap his head around why everyone was this pissed at him. Yeah, he hurt Nico, but he didn’t do anything to hurt him that bad. All he did was tease him maybe too much and forgot to let him know what his relationship with Luke was like because it never came up in conversations, but he didn’t understand what the big deal was. “Hazel, and I think Annabeth too, knows something. They’re not telling me something, are they? Nico’s not, like, actually underage and clinically psycho is he?”

     “ _I swear you put your foot in your mouth faster than anyone I know, and I haven’t even met you._ ”

     Percy chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

     “ _But you’re right._ ” Bianca paused like she was waiting for him to speak, but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “ _There’s something about Nico that I think you should know. You cannot share this information with anyone, and you especially are not allowed to let Nico know that you know this. Promise me._ ”

     He thought of the earnest smile Nico gave him a couple weeks ago when Percy came by on his break to eat lunch with him; how he looked at him shyly from underneath those illegal eyelashes of his and touched the tips of his fingers lightly to his wrist while he promised that he could tell him anything, he ‘swears it by the river Styx’.

     That smile brought one to his face now and he knew he would do anything for that kid.

     “Yeah, I swear on the river Styx.”

     He had to have imagined the fondness leaking into her voice when she sighed quietly over the phone. “ _Oh, Dio. What am I going to do with you?_ ” A small smile escaped over his lips at that, still amazed at how familiar and easy it was talking to Bianca even though he hasn’t met her, but it slowly slid off his face when she continued. “ _I need you to listen to me now, okay? I really shouldn’t be the one telling you all this and I won’t tell you everything, because it is not my place to say. But I’ll tell you what I think you need to know to fix this; and not anything more. Do you understand?_ ”

     Nodding his head, he felt his frown deepen as he squinted against the sun’s rays. He knew from the way Hazel was acting that he was probably about to hear something very unpleasant, but if knowing this would help him with Nico…then he needs to hear this. “I do.”

     “ _Do you? It’s not pretty, Percy. But if you want my help making things better with Nico, then you have to listen to me. Not just to what I’m about to tell you, but after too. I don’t know you very well, or very much at all, but I have the feeling you’re the kind of person to rush stupidly headfirst into things without thinking it through. And I need you not to do that. I’ll ask again, do you understand?_ ”

     It was true. He had a long history of acting first and thinking later. Sometimes it worked, other times…well, let’s just say that his friends didn’t call him ‘Seaweed brain’ for nothing. His whole life was the result of split second decisions, but he could see how this might require more tack than he was used to. Or was it tact? He’d have to ask Annabeth. “Yeah, Bianca, I do. You have my word.”

     “ _Good. How much do you know about our family?_ ”

     “Nico said you were both born in Italy and when your mother died, your father brought you to the States. He said you moved around a lot, but that you finally settled in California. L.A. right?”

     “ _Yeah. That was about four years ago. Nico was fourteen and was about to be a freshman in high school and I had just turned seventeen. I put my foot down and told our father that we had to stop moving around so much, especially since Nico was getting older. He was an impressionable teenager, he needed to stay still for a while and make some friends that weren’t his sister or the staff of the hotel we happened to be staying at. He only listened to me because I threatened to contact our mother’s father about getting us to move back to Italy if he didn’t agree. There is one thing our father loves, sadly even over his own children. And that is power. Without us, it would be like he had lost, and he couldn’t allow that._ ”

     Percy couldn’t help but to snort loudly in disgust. He knew a thing or two about shit fathers. His real dad abandoned him and his mom when he was just a baby, going off to be a knock off pirate, too obsessed with being free to care about the family he had left behind. His mother had married an awful man some time after that, and Percy could still smell his horrible stench in his nightmares even after he had convinced his mom that she could so better than him when he was twelve. The only decent father figure he’s had is his current stepfather Paul, who made his mother insanely happy and gave him his little sister to dote on, but even then he was still catching up on this whole ‘dad’ role. “Your father sounds like a right dick.”

     Bianca laughed humorously over the speaker. “ _You have no idea, but that’s for another time. The point is, he agreed, so he managed to restrict his business down to L.A. and the surrounding area. That way, he bought us the only house we have had since before our mother’s death and enrolled Nico in school. I decided school wasn’t for me, though, so I started to work on my GED before the paint had dried on our new walls._ ”

     “Really? You have your GED? What did you do if you didn’t want to go to school? What are you doing now?”

     “ _You’re getting sidetracked. That’s a story for another time. Anyway, Nico was beyond excited about finally settling down and going to school, even though he was nervous as hell. He told me once it was like choking on air; it was exactly what he wanted but it was what was terrifying him at the same time. He didn’t think he would be able to make friends or fit in. So I told him what any good sister would have; that he didn’t have anything to worry about because anyone who didn’t like him would be crazy and not worth knowing in the first place._ ”

     “That’s exactly right. Nico is great; I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to be his friend.”

     “ _I told him to open up a little and put his trust in people, and that people would do the same to him in return. I should never have told him that._ ”

     Percy’s lips pursed together in a thin line. He really didn’t like where this story was heading. “What do you mean by that, Bianca?”

     “ _If there is one thing you should know about Nico, it’s that he is too trusting and feels everything too intensely. People look at him now and think he is cold and unfeeling, but the truth is he just feels too much. He wasn’t always like this. He used to be a breath of fresh air, the perfect picture of boyish exuberance and innocence. He was like an excited kid told that every day was Christmas.”_

 _“_ I would have liked to see that.” Percy replied with a soft smile. He had seen glimpses of the boy Bianca was describing now, little flashes of warmth in his eyes or the little twitches at the corners of his lips that he couldn’t control.

     “ _Then he put too much of his trust in the wrong person and it was like seeing my little brother die and be replaced by another person, one who was so much weaker and timid and downhearted. The person he used to be is gone, and I don’t know if he will ever be back._ ”

     “Bianca, what happened? Who’s this person he trusted too much?”

     It was quiet for too long, long enough that Percy started to fidget uncomfortably. The sun was hot beating down upon him but he felt cold in the shadow of the building.

     “ _Alex. His name is Alex._ ”

     

* * *

 

      _It was raining. The sun was shining but the world was drowning in the tears of the sky, forcing everyone inside. An olive skinned kid sitting in an alcove was tucked between mountains of books and staring wistfully out at the downpour. He would have been inside either way, but he mourned the pretty day for others._

_He tore his eyes away from the fogged glass and glanced down at the book he had open in his lap. It was his book, his favourite Jane Austen, and the only book trapping him in his cubicle that wasn’t from the library he was nestled in. It was his mama’s book, the only one he had the chance to take with him when his father came and took them away. The rest were probably still in Venice, collecting dust and in serious need of a tender touch._

_School had been over for over an hour now, but he didn’t want to take the chance of meeting with too many people. It was the beginning of November and it was the longest time he had ever stayed in a single school. When Bianca had first told him that they were getting a house and he was expected to be enrolled in the local high school, he was beyond excited. He couldn’t wait to be in a place long enough for people to remember his name and for his teachers to learn to decipher his handwriting and to finally make some friends._

_The semester was almost over and he hadn’t made a single friend. The only people he talked with besides his sister and the silent conversations he had with his father were the school cafeteria workers and his teachers, and that was only a polite hello or to tell him that his homework assignment was late. He had never been involved with a lot of people before but he felt more alone now surrounded by familiar faces than he had when he was holed up in a fancy hotel room with only his sister for company. He was beginning to think he was doomed to a miserable life full of social disappointment and cellulite. He liked cats okay, maybe he could learn to love them and become the ideal crazy cat lady that everyone was scared of but respected in their own right._

_Sighing, he gently placed his worn copy of Pride & Prejudice in his backpack and gathered the library’s books into a neat tower that he could carry semi-confidently over to the return counter with only a slight chance of dropping them and humiliating himself. His chance of making that journey unscathed dropped dramatically as soon as he took his first step away from the table, his toe catching on the chair leg and making him throw all of his weight forward. _

_He was bracing himself for the hard impact of the floor and the uncomfortable feeling of book spines poking into his ribcage, but instead he pitched forward into a solid mass that caught him and the books from making the comic fall to the floor. Unfortunately, it also resulted in the books being shoved back toward his face where they were squished against his nose and cheekbones. Dammit, being stabbed in the eye with a book was painful._

_“Ow!” He refused to admit the pathetic squeak came from him, but when a mess of shaggy blond hair poked out from behind the books separating them he had to ruefully accept that yes, that indecent noise belonged to him, officer, and thanks for returning him home, because there was no way that the hulking bulk of male specimen in front of him could possibly make such a noise even if his balls were held in a vice grip by Superman._

_“Hey there, you okay?” Blondie had nice blue eyes, kinda chilly but nice all the same. His smile was nice too. It had been a long time since a friendly smile was thrown his way and it was a…pleasant change._

_He tried not to blush as he centered his frame to get a better hold on the books, stepping away from the guy’s arms and giving him a timid smile. He was sure it looked awkward as hell on his face, but if this guy was going to be friendly to him, then he was going to try to be polite back. “Yeah, sorry…you know, about colliding into you. And stuff…” Smooth, very smooth._

_Blondie didn’t seem to mind though, he just smiled at him like he was the most adorable thing in the world and stuck out his hand. “Nah, man, it was all my fault. My name’s Alex.” Nico glanced down at the hand with an eyebrow raised, glancing back up at his clear blues. When he realized he didn’t have a free hand to shake with, he pulled it back quickly and shoved it through his hair. “Right! Sorry! That was silly of me. Here, let me help you with that.”_

_Before he could respond, the guy—Alex— was already taking half the stack out of his hands and giving him a hopeful smile. “Okay, yeah, thanks. I’m Nico, by the way.”_

_He watched as Alex’s smile grew to encompass his entire face, eyes crinkling and lines forming around his mouth. “Nico! It’s so nice to meet you, man.”_

_Looking at the way he was smiling at him, it was hard not to think of how very nice it was to meet him, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	16. BONUS CHAPTER 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Percy's POV at the zoo won out in the end. Here it is, and I'll see you Sunday for the next chapter.
> 
> (This is the winner or the POV vote, so this chapter is the zoo scene in Percy's POV.)

     The party had already started with a lot of people dancing and drinking and he was still in his uniform, smelling like fish and sea lion vomit because Clarisse’s stomach wasn’t agreeing with her lately. He knew he was good looking, but smelling like a fish market was really not attractive.

     The zoo had technically been closed since five, but he had been busy cleaning up and taking care of the animals. He offered to finish up and let Ethan get to the party to find his new boyfriend, Mr.Ally-something-stuck-up. He could find his friends later, and he wanted to make sure Clarisse was going to be good for the night.

     He also wanted to waste time until Nico showed up. When he asked him out, he was pretty confident that he would say yes, but he was still nervous. That was two days ago and he couldn’t wait anymore. There was something about Nico that was different, and for the life of him he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was inexplicably drawn to the raven haired, moody young man. He wanted to devour him whole.

     Percy wasn’t stupid, and he knew he had a reputation as a player and a bad boy, but he couldn’t help it. He liked wearing brightly colored shirts and skin tight jeans. He liked using his body as a canvas for expression when he couldn’t pull something creative he could do out of his ass. And he liked people and he liked sex with people even more. He didn’t associate sex with romantic feelings; it was more primal need and an outlet than anything. Every person he has slept with meant something to him, maybe not romantically, but they were still important to him. That didn’t mean he had never had a serious, committed relationship before either. There was Annabeth, obviously, but it was becoming more obvious that they were obviously meant to be just really good friends, obviously…

     Then there was Luke and Calypso and Rachel, all of whom he was still good friends with. The list of people he had slept with might have been longer than the list of those he had been in a relationship with, but that didn’t mean he valued sex above everything else. When he chose to be in a relationship, it was because he trusted them and felt comfortable being vulnerable around them. Keeping up his “bad boy” image and still trying to be a great guy was exhausting, and every now and then he just needed a break from it all. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders at times, and even if he knew his problems were nothing compared to others, it didn’t make it any easier.

     Nico made him want to be a better person and he had no idea why because he had never felt ashamed of his lifestyle before. He barely knew the kid, but he felt like he had known him his whole life. There was something about him that made it easy for Percy to sidle up next to him with an arm thrown over his shoulders, effortless flirtations and quips rolling off his tongues and a genuine smile stretching over his face that left him feeling dizzy.

     He was so understatedly beautiful that it made his stomach crowd up against his heart. When looking at him, it was easy to see how most people would glance over him instead of taking pause to see him. Most people would see too long hair, too pale skin, and a too skinny body trying to be obnoxious in too much black behind too vicious glares. He was too different, and people didn’t like to dwell on things and people that were different from them. Nico acted like a cornered animal sometimes, flighty and defensive, and most people would give up and let him be like a dog being put down for biting in his old, irritable age.

     But Percy wasn’t most people, and when he looked at Nico, he saw him. He saw someone who was pale like they never saw the sun but tilted his head up toward it whenever it was shining warm on his face. He saw someone who wore dark clothes and never cut his hair above his ears not because it was the cool thing to do these days, but because he was hiding himself behind them. He saw someone who had so much passion for food but was skinny like he never ate it. He saw a kid who lashed out at everyone to prevent anyone from even thinking of getting close to him, even though he was like a cat with fresh cream when someone complimented him.

     He saw a kid who had seen too much of the world and was so terrified to let himself be a part of it again that he grew walls as thick as stone to keep everything out while confining himself in. He saw this because he did the same thing.

     He hadn’t always been the person he was now. His younger self would have never dreamed of wearing neon, tight jeans and gaudy shirts that pulled taut over his muscles. When he was twelve years old he didn’t think he would ever get a single tattoo let alone multiple tattoos. He used to be content with just being by alone, or when he started to get together with Annabeth, happy with just being with her. Sleeping around and gaining the reputation of a ‘player’ was never in the cards for him before, and even though he wasn’t ashamed of it exactly, he still didn’t know why he did it.

     Once, he talked to Jason about it, when they shared too many shitty beers between them in the basement of Piper’s house while everyone else was upstairs still partying. The party was going well and he was flirting with a cute blond in a beanie underneath the staircase, and he knew he was two minutes away from enticing them him to an empty room. He was trying to tell him about something his little sister did but the guy clearly wasn’t interested in what he was saying, instead staring unabashedly down at his crotch and playing with his belt. He was used to this kind of attention, but when they guy had interrupted him by bluntly telling him that he really wanted to suck his dick, not even looking up at him, it hit him how most of the people he was sleeping with lately weren’t even interesting to him and were obviously mostly interested in him for what rumor said was hidden beneath his clothes.

     He excused himself quickly and found himself in an empty room with a completely different blond who he had no intention of sleeping with. It was unlike Percy to leave the party early, so Jason had followed him down to see if he was okay, and found his friend curled up on a couch with watching the mute TV and tracing the condensation on his bottle. Percy glanced up with him and gave Jason a small smile when he grabbed two more beers from the downstairs fridge and settled next to him.

     Neither of them said anything for a while, they just sipped at their beers until they had to get up to get more and silently watched the flashing images onscreen before them. The party was still going strong upstairs, some Beyoncé song seeping through the ceiling, but when Percy had asked Jason if Piper would be missing him, the blond had just waved him off.

     Two more beers later, Percy turned to face him with a sigh, blurting out a monologue of how he didn’t know what he was doing with him life anymore and how he couldn’t understand when everything had changed. Jason had become one of his closest friends over the years, but he would never have had the guts to do this sober. He knew it was the alcohol making him brave, but he took advantage of it.

     Jason was still an undecided major, even though he had been going to school as long as Percy had been. His father was rich enough the let him go for as long as he wanted, so he has never declared and instead taken so many different, even random courses, that might be able to be bunched together to qualify for a field of study if he tried real hard. But he had been taking a lot of psychology and philosophy classes lately, and Percy had forgotten about it until Jason had turned to face him with a serious face and told him it was probably because of his step-father, the first one that is.

     Percy was confused and too drunk to string together an understanding of what he meant by that, so Jason had chugged the rest of his beer back and put his hands on his shoulders.

     “He was with your mom for a long time, right? You’ve told me about him before, and I know you said he never actually hit you or your mom, but he was still abusive and restrictive, right? You did whatever you could not to get on his nerves or set him off, sticking to yourself and living by his rules. But then, your mom leaves him and all of a sudden those same rules and shit don’t apply anymore. So what do you do? You go from one extreme to having a new spectrum available to you, so you automatically swing all the way to the other extreme side. You know? There’s nothing wrong with it, you’re just finding out who you are.”

     Percy had stared at him with wide eyes like he had never heard anything that made so much sense before, half impressed that what he said was so accurate and the other half of him impressed that he was able to string so many complete sentences together to elegantly in his addled state. “What if I never find where I belong? Aren’t I supposed to have that figured out by now?”

     Jason had snorted and opened up two more beers, twisting off theirs tops and shoving one in his empty hands. “I don’t think it’s something we are ever supposed to figure out.”

     Even when he had a killed headache and felt like his stomach was going to implode in itself in the morning he had never forgotten his words. He knew who he wanted to be and that was close enough for understanding where he was supposed to belong. He was happy with the way he dressed and the people he had relations with and the way he lived him life now, but he used to do it because he didn’t know what he wanted out of his life. He knows he still doesn’t have it all figured out, but that’s okay, because he doesn’t need to.

     Even though he had only known Nico for a few short weeks, he felt like he had known him his whole life because he reminded him of how he used to be. He didn’t know why Nico was hiding from the world, but he wanted to find out and he wanted to help him help himself. It wasn’t that Percy only liked him because he thought he was broken and in need of fixing, but because he was so obviously hurt and holding back and still managed to be funny and shy and bold. He had never met someone who was so hurt and still so strong.

     Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was absolutely adorable, either. He was so unbelievably cute that he was proud that he managed to keep his hands to himself so far. Yes, he wanted to sleep with Nico, so bad, and he could tell the chase he was leading him on was coming to a close, but he wanted something more to come from this. He’s been working for it, endlessly pursuing him, and he was finally in reach.

     The last time he had a serious relationship that lasted more than two weeks and wasn’t solely based on sex was when he was with Luke, and that was ages ago. Annabeth didn’t really count since she has always been there, and besides, they haven’t been together like that for months and he was sure that they were through with that side of their relationship. They worked better as friends anyway, since she never could feel like she could fully trust him anymore. He didn’t blame her, and that was why every serious relationship he had been in was with someone he had already known and was friends with.

     Nico was the first person he wanted and didn’t sleep with by the end of the week. He was also the first person he was considering being in a relationship with that he hadn’t known for years. This was just as new and scary to him as Nico acted like he was, and he thought he could see that. He had a tendency to come off too strong at times and maybe getting drunk and licking salt off his body the first time they really hung out wasn’t the best way to show his intentions, but he thought it had worked out well. He said yes to meet him here tonight, and that was all the encouragement Percy needed to continue to woo his pants off, the literalness depending on how tonight would go. Now he just needed to change out of his uniform and hope that his smell isn’t totally repelling.

     The party had been going for a while, so he thought he would see if Nico was there yet. He zigzagged through the crowd, exchanging fist bumps and bro hugs and side hugs with people he knew, which was a lot, so he felt like he was making his way through to the other side forever. The first thing he saw was Annabeth’s bright hair, smooth and wavy and reaching down to her lower back. He could see a lot of his other close friends there too, but he zoomed in on a mop of dark hair. Nico looked good, cute and just on the side of obscenely sexy, in his tight jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt that left miles of smooth skin running down from his neck to his chest for Percy’s viewing pleasure.

     He looked upset though. He had a small frown scrunching between his brows and his eyes were glazed over like he wasn’t really there. “Nico! Hey, man, you made it! Nico? You in there?”

     He was slow coming back to him, turning to face him but eyes not lighting up in recognition, until finally his eyebrows unknotted. He smiled at him brightly, “Hey, there he is! Where’d you go?”

     He was vaguely aware of Jason shooting a sidelong glance at him, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Nico as the younger man ducked underneath Annabeth’s hold, sending Percy an amused smile. “Nice get up you have there.”

     Percy tried to wave his eyebrows at him cleverly while jutting one hip to side, striking a supermodel pose. “Thanks, but don’t worry. Everyone finds the uniform irresistible. Just to give you a fair warning though, I wouldn’t sniff me.” He leaned in closer, wanting to get closer to Nico. “I probably still smell like fish!” He counted it as a victory when he got a sweet laugh in return.

     Annabeth tried to insinuate himself next to him, snarking that he always smelled like that, and he knew what she was doing and he appreciated the gesture, but she didn’t have to protect Nico from him. He wasn’t going to hurt him and she could trust him enough to ease off a little.

     But then Nico managed to surprise him once again, informing everyone how he thought he smelled like salt and vanilla, effectively quieting every conversation around them. He should really stop underestimating the young man, because it seems like he has all sorts of surprises up his sleeves.

     When Nico became aware of the quiet, he started sputtering over his words, trying to take it back, but Percy couldn’t let him do that. He tried to diffuse the situation and him at ease, stepping toward him and rubbing soothing circles on the inside of his wrist. “Must be all the sea water sloshing around inside mixing with all the vanilla wafer cookies I eat.” He didn’t know why he said that, but it seemed to be the right thing to say since everyone laughed and the tension visibly drained from Nico’s body at the contact.

     He was still too tense for his liking, so he tightened his grip on the thin wrist in his hold and pulled him away from the source. Besides, he really needed to change, so why not take him with him? And if that included getting him alone and the press of naked flesh, well, that would be fine too.

     They walked companionably for a few minutes, flirting shamelessly and teasing mercilessly, until Nico finally asked where they were going. Percy couldn’t help the devilish look that took residence on his features. “Well, I need to change out of my work clothes. Care to join me?”

     When Nico had raised his chin defiantly and replied with fire in his eyes—“I do”—Percy had never walked so fast in his life.

* * *

 

 

     He talked a big game usually, and he was never one not to deliver and go through with his desire, but he had honestly never planned for it to get this far. Not for tonight at least, because he had thought of this and so much more in the last few weeks, but it wasn’t his intention to stumble into the back room of a gift shop with Nico wrapped around his waist and his mouth trying to suck his soul out from his tongue.

     All he knew was that Nico wanted this and he fit so perfectly in his hold and his ass felt so good in his hands and his mouth tastes like Elysium. Before he had known it, they were lying tangled together on the employee break room couch, bare skin rubbing steamily together, their cocks held tight in his grip as he jerked them off steadily. His mouth was everywhere, kissing and licking and sucking bites into his neck and chest, tugging his pebbled nipple between his teeth and plunging his tongue in between his bruised lips. He couldn’t get enough of his taste and he wanted nothing more than to slide down and take him into his mouth, inhale deeply right at the core of him and get drunk on it, but he was so close and Nico’s balls were drawing up so he knew he was getting close too.

     Nico was begging him so prettily, a whimpering and moaning mess underneath him, and if this is what he was like when they were just rutting up against each other, he didn’t know if he could survive when they did something more. And he was planning to do this again, this and so much more, as much as possible. And gods, he was tugging his hair and that felt so damn innocent coming from him that it was making him dizzy.

     Then he was pushing himself up and staring down at his deep eyes, watery and pleading, and he tightened his grip on them and stroked harder, faster. Nico had thrown his head back, mouth opened in a silent scream, as he painted his stomach and Percy’s hands with his come, and the sight of the younger man’s eyes rolling up into his head sent him over the edge, lurching him forward to shudder his release.

     They breathed heavily for a few minutes with Percy barely managing to fall to the side of Nico instead of directly on top of him. He couldn’t keep his hands off of all he smooth, milky skin, rubbing his hands up and down his arms and pushing them through his sweaty bangs.

     But then he had realized what they had just done. He barely got Nico to accept his interest in him, and he still didn’t know what was troubling him so much, but he had just jumped into bed with him at the first opportunity that presented itself to him. He might have teased him and made it blatantly obvious that he wanted him, but he didn’t actually want to leap into things so quickly, especially since the bed they jumped into wasn’t even an actual bed. He wasn’t ‘vanilla’ by any means, but he prided himself on being a romantic, and had never taken advantage of someone he actually wanted a relationship with in such careless terms.

     Disgusted with himself, he had climbed off his young lover and grabbed some tissues for them to wipe off with. He was so mad at himself and he knew he had to make it up to Nico somehow. He’d take them back to the party like the gentleman he should have been in the first place and show him a good time that had nothing to do with sex, and maybe then he would see how much Percy was trying to do this right.

     He sat down on the couch and pressed a sweet kiss on his forehead, hands brushing a stray piece of hair behind his ears. “Well, should we get back to the party?” He couldn’t meet Nico’s eyes though, no matter how much he wanted to. When he received a confirmation, he jumped to his feet and pulled his clothes on, leading Nico to the door.

     When he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, he frowned at the glare Nico was inflicting on the wood door. He stopped him by placing his hands on his shoulders, kissing him softly, and said something reassuring that probably came off inappropriate, and then they were heading back to the party like the past half hour never happened.

     He had every intention of getting Nico a drink and not letting him leave his side, and preferably his lap, for the rest of the night, but when they had reached the rest of the party goers Percy saw Luke sitting by himself by the drink table with tears streaming down his face. Percy had smiled at Nico and sent him a quick wink, telling him he’d be right back, and going over to rest a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.

     What had originally been him helping Luke by lending a friendly ear to his problems had quickly turned into his participation in plotting his revenge against his boyfriend by making him jealous. He should have seen this coming, but his friend was hurting and he couldn’t just let him suffer like that, even if this happened more than he would like and everybody knew that Luke and Octavian’s fights were never about anything serious.

     He hadn’t thought anything about it, so used to playing this role that he brought Luke drinks and danced with him and let him kiss him whenever Octavian was around. It was taking way longer than usual for Octavian to get jealous, but that was probably because he hadn’t drank as much as Luke obviously had. Luke was getting desperate too, grinding on Percy’s body and thrusting his tongue so forcibly into his mouth that he had to laugh.

     He still hadn’t thought anything about it when Octavian had pulled Luke from him with a wink and told him to ‘keep his paws off his boyfriend’. But then he heard Annabeth’s voice raise above the music and he tried to push his way through the crowd as he saw Nico yell something back at her. The younger man was digging his keys out of his pockets and Percy was making his way to the exit before Nico’s voice was done yelling its reply.

     By the time Nico made it to his car, Percy was leaning back comfortably on the door with his arms crossed. Nico had stopped short of reaching him, staring at him with blank eyes. He raised his hand wanting to wipe the tears off of his cheeks, but thought better of it and smoothed it down the car’s hood instead. “Nice car. She’s a beauty.” And yeah, he had already seen his car before obviously but it was the only thing he could think to say.

     When he didn’t say anything he tried to approach him but something in the younger man’s eyes made him cringe and fall back against the door. Silence stretched on for what seemed like forever and Percy was three seconds away from saying something extremely stupid again just to break it when Nico beat him to it. Well, he told him to move, but that was a word and that was progress.

     He didn’t comply though, not at first, asking him if he was okay to drive. He knew Nico hadn’t really drank much before and when he was with him, but he was gone for a long time after that and he didn’t want him to get himself hurt, even if he looked more angry than drunk.

     “Fuck you.”

     “It would be my pleasure.”

     They were right in each other’s personal space and maybe he could have thought of a better comeback than that, but he didn’t know what was going on and he wasn’t going to let him go without knowing. Nico was still trying to open the door despite Percy’s weight against it, but he wasn’t worried about it since he had a good thirty pounds on him, probably even more. He was shaking now and Percy needed to know what was going on but then he was growling and snapping at him, “Why don’t you go back to dancing? It looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

     Shock ran through Percy’s body and he tried to make sense of what he meant by that. Nico took advantage of confusion by pushing him aside and shoving himself inside his car, trying to slam the door shut behind him. Percy thought of what he was doing right before he heard the commotion from early, about Luke’s hands on his chest and his tongue down his throat, at the same time that his hand shot forward and grabbed the car window before it could close. “Jealous?”

     He didn’t know why he said that. But what else could he say? That’s what this is about, right? Percy had basically just invited him on a date to take advantage of him not halfway through it only to leave him afterward and be caught later with another guy’s hands all over his body, and _Jesus_ , he was such a dick.

     But then Nico had snapped at him so coldly that his hand fell from the door. He watched as Nico slammed the car door, revved the engine, and peeled out the parking lot, watching the retreating taillights long after they had already disappeared.

     “No?” Was he really not jealous, or was he just saying that? What should he do? Oh gods, Hazel was going to fucking kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	17. Monday, September 8th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Really early update at 2:00 in the morning when I bet you thought I wouldn't update until 11:59 pm when it was barely still the 16th because I have not slept for days and I don't plan on starting now!

_“You really didn’t have to do this, you know. I didn’t even drop the books.”_

_They were sitting in a busy Americanized Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, sharing between their heaping plates of chicken and noodles from the buffet tables. After Alex helped Nico carry the books to the return desk, he had insisted on taking him out to eat as an apology for running into him and for the small bruise that was forming at the corner of his eye where the spine of one of the books tried to assault his face._

_His initial refusal was weak at best, and it took an embarrassingly short time for him to agree to hop into this stranger’s car and drive to downtown Los Angeles with him. How could he say no when he was the first person who actually showed interest in spending time with him besides his sister?_

_So here they were, talking in loud voices over the chatter of the room, munching on crab rangoons and talking about their childhood. It was weird, but it was also…nice. He was still trying to wrap his head around what this was supposed to be. From the movies he watched, it looked like they were on a date, but it also sounded like what Bianca would describe when she had been out with her friends. Did he want it to be a date? That seemed like a silly thing to be thinking about when he didn’t even have a friend yet. Maybe this Alex guy could be his friend, though._

_He liked him, he liked him a lot. He was so handsome. His blonde hair shined golden in direct sunlight and was a softer, buttery tone inside, curling just below his ears. He was perfectly tanned, and maybe some people thought he took the surfer look too far with how coppery he looked, but Nico thought he pulled it off well, even if it was fake. He had one of those thousand watt smiles that were blinding, but not offensively so, and clear, crystal blue eyes that were the color of the early morning sky. He had a strange face, one that was always staring right through to your soul like he knew exactly what you were thinking but not letting any of his own emotions through. Maybe it could have been described as distant and shut off to some, but Nico was only used to two faces really staring back at him, and the way Alex was smiling at him now was nothing like his father’s cold sneer._

_“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. It was the least I could do for almost sending you to your death piled under those heavy books. Think of all the damage those poor books would have had.” As he said this, he had puffed his chest up a bit, and something in his voice reminded Nico of people on TV who were being sarcastic. But even still, he knew he wasn’t the best at interpreting human interaction, so when he answered, he was still timid and unsure whether or not he had caught him because of the books._

_“Are you sure there is no other reason you caught me?” He tried to sound suggestive like Bianca did when she was on the phone and thought she sent Nico away, but he was a young kid and he was curious who his sister was talking to when they only ever had each other. He was sure it came out more awkward and unpracticed than he had meant it to, but Alex grinned at him all the same and hummed in the back of his throat like he was considering his options._

_“Well, mostly. But…I was also hoping that playing the hero would maybe impress you enough to get your number.”_

_Nico’s mouth fell open almost comically but he couldn’t find it in himself to worry about looking like an idiot. He felt like he had shut down, playing those words on a loop in his head, not being able to process what he had just been told. Alex didn’t give him any clue as to whether he had heard him right, he just smirked through a forkful of rice he shoved in his mouth unceremoniously._

_His eyes darted back down to his plate and stabbed a piece of chicken carefully, bringing it halfway to his mouth and then pausing. Clearing his throat, he put the fork back down and glanced shyly up at Alex through his eyelashes, more hesitant than demure. “Really?”_

_His hand was grabbed and squeezed softly over the table top. Blood was rushing to his cheeks and he felt mortified that it made the skin of Alex’s eyes crinkle affectionately when he noticed, causing even more red to flood his cheeks until he was sure he was as ripe as the tomatoes his nonno grew._

_“Yeah, really. Is this okay?”_

_Blue eyes were locked with his, concern showing in their depths and Nico was sure no one had ever looked at him this way before. He could already feel himself getting addicted to pleasing this Alex guy, and he couldn’t help the goofy smile from spreading across his face. “Yeah. It’s okay.”_

* * *

 

      _“He came home that day smiling like a love struck fool, chattering away at the ‘totally cool and hot guy’ he met at the library. I promised not to tell father about him and about the fact that they went to downtown L.A. It wasn’t like he was going to come around asking, but if he did find out, he sure as hell wouldn’t be happy about it. That was the happiest I had ever seen him.”_

     Jealousy was eating away at Percy slowly, but he tried to push it down. He didn’t have a right to be jealous of Nico’s past. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had partners before meeting Nico, so he couldn’t expect him not to have his own past lovers. He sounded like he was good for him, too, so he should be happy Nico was happy. But that didn’t mean that he could keep the bitterness from his voice. “Well, he sounds like a nice guy.” 

     Bianca’s snort was loud and obnoxious. _“I would comment on the tone you’re giving me, but I have to agree with you on it. He did seem like a nice guy, and he did for a long time.”_

     “What do you mean? When did he start to change?” 

    _“I don’t know for sure. I moved out around January and he seemed fine, still happy and proud to have a boyfriend who cared about him as much as Alex did. They were only together for a couple of months then, but I could tell he was completely head over heels in love with him.”_

     “I don’t understand, how did he change?”

    _“Nico used to tell me everything and that included things about his relationship. He would come into my room and talk for hours about the romantic dates they went on and how he was becoming fast friends with Alex’s friends and how perfectly perfect Alex was. He never complained and never told me if they ever had fights. Even when I moved out, he would come visit or call me to talk with about him. But then sometime in late February, he stopped calling as often and when he did call, he didn’t even mention Alex unless to tell me he was doing fine if I asked about him.”_

     Obviously Percy was still missing something. He didn’t know where this was going, but he knew he wouldn’t like it. His stomach was already churning at the thought of Nico getting hurt. “You weren’t worried?”

    _“Of course I was worried. But I was a good drive away now and he said everything was fine so I chose to believe it. But then by April the phone calls stopped altogether. I thought our father had done something and I was sick with myself for leaving him alone in that house with him, even if he wasn’t there more of the time. I didn’t think he would seriously hurt him or anything, but there are other ways to hurt him. So I came by one day when he was supposed to be done with school. And I wanted to cry when I saw him.”_

     Dread was pooling in his gut and freezing like a hunk of ice in his chest. All he could think about was his first step-father, Smelly Gabe, and the tumultuous anger that was bubbling inside of him at the thought of Nico going through the same thing, maybe even something worse. “Bianca, what are you trying to tell me?”

* * *

 

      _Relief washed over her when her key still unlocked the door. She had half expected him to change the locks on her, just to show his dominance in some way since she had moved out to be an independent woman. Her father might be more fondly inclined toward her than her brother, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a power hungry cazzo who had to assert his authority over her, illusionary as it was._

_She didn’t say anything upon entering incase her father was home, shutting the door as quietly as she could and making her way through the house. It was quiet; the only sound was the squeak of her shoes on the floor. When she reached the staircase she heard a noise coming from the kitchen, like someone was rustling a bag._

_Changing directions, she tried to keep her footsteps light enough not to be heard. It was a big house, one that their father bought mostly as a show of his wealth, and sound easily traveled through the empty air. Peeking around the corner, she saw a familiar mop of dark hair standing by the counter with his back turned toward her._

_She let out a huff of air, glad that their father didn’t seem to be in and that it was Nico she found in the kitchen. Stopping her ninja-stealth act, she stepped fully into the kitchen and chirped out a cheerful greeting to her brother. “Hey, Nicky! What’s up?”_

_He whipped around, startled at her sudden presence and clutching a bag of Doritos to his chest. When she saw him, her purse slipped from her hands and thumped loudly on the ground. She was on him in the next second, clutching him to her chest and petting his hair in what she hoped was a soothing manner. “Oh, Nico, bambino, what happened? Are you alright? Talk to me, caro?”_

_Nico, her sweet, innocent, unassuming little brother was covered in bruises. He was wearing a black tank top and basketball shorts, so there was plenty of naked skin for her to see that most of his body was covered in bruises of all stages. His legs were scattered with new looking red ones and sore looking dark ones. His arms were completely littered with little brown blood spots. His neck even had a large bruise and tiny smudges on its side, and his face had a yellowing bruise spreading from his left eye down over his cheekbone._

_Holding his frame against her, she realized that he felt smaller too. He had always been a smaller kid, always on the skinny side, but he always looked healthy and leaner than anything. Now he felt noticeably frailer. He looked just on the side of sickly, but she was more concerned about why he was so injured._

_He hadn’t said anything, just letting her hold him to her chest. His breathes are a little erratic and all of his muscles are tense. She pulled back to gently take his chin between her fingers, tilting his head to the side to get a better look at his slightly swollen eye. She hissed in sympathy and pulled back to take the hem of his top in her hands. “Here, let me see…”_

_“No!” His yell was so loud that she flinched back in surprise, letting him push her hands away from him. His eyes were frantic and he was frozen in place, acting like he wanted to run but he had no idea where to go._

_She swallowed the lump in her throat and came closer to him, raising her hands slowly, palms faced out. His reaction bothered her and she knew that she had to look under his shirt no matter what now. She steeled her gaze and grabbed his wrists firmly. “Nico, stop. Let me take a look. I swear if our father did this, I will…”_

_She cut herself off with a soft gasp. There was a large bruise covered the majority of his stomach and lower chest, vaguely in the shape of a foot, and his sides had bruises that were only slightly smaller. She held him still and walked around him, confirming her suspicions that his back was in the same shape as the rest of him. She was seething with anger, gentle fingers brushing over a particularly dark blemish and ten seconds away from calling Child Protective Services when she saw them._

_Tiny bruises were formed in little half circles around his waist, irrefutably the product of fingers gripping him too hard. Her hands stilled and she felt the air stutter in her lungs. Her stomach was threatening to heave itself out of her throat, tears stinging the back of her eyes. She forced herself to even her breathing and turn Nico around to face her._

_He was staring blankly at his shoes, refusing to look at her, and she didn’t know what to do. This was all her fault, none of it would have happened if she hadn’t of moved out. Self-hatred was rotting away at her heart but she forced it down and touched the tips of her fingers to her brother’s cheek. “Nico, you have to tell me…did Father do this?”_

_That got his attention. His head snapped up so fast that she was almost head butted. “What? No, of course not!”_

_She stroked his face gently and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, bambino. You don’t have to protect him.”_

_He made a frustrated noise and swiped at her hand. “Stop it, he didn’t do this. I promise.” She stared at him hard for a few seconds, but he was looking at her so upset and honestly that she knew she had to believe him. He was never the best liar, and she could tell he was telling the truth now._

_“Okay, okay. I believe you.” She reached up again to smooth her hand through his hair and smiled when he let her. She was glad it wasn’t their father, but she could only come to one other conclusion now. “Nico, tell me what happened.”_

_She took the bag of Doritos he was still clutching desperately to his chest and set it on the counter. He looked on the verge of running away from this conversation but she had to believe that he would trust her with this. When he spoke, he looked somewhere over her shoulder. “It’s nothing. It looks worse than it is, really. I just…got into a fight at school.”_

_Bianca leveled an unimpressed glare at him but he just gave her a painfully fake grin and said, “You should have seen the other guy.”_

_She wanted to punch him in the arm and tell him to stop joking around and be serious, but she was afraid that she would seriously hurt him if she did. Instead, she just intensified her glare and rubbed at her forehead. She knew what he was going to say, but she had to ask otherwise. “Nico, tell me honestly, did Alex do this to you?”_

_If he was upset at the accusation of their father doing this to him, then he was in a full plan panic attack at her mentioning Alex. He jerked himself back from her hold violently and staggered back until he ran into the counter. “No! No, Bianca. I told you, I got into a fight, that’s all that happened. Okay? Okay?” He wasn’t looking at her though; he was looking everywhere but in her eyes._

_He was breathing too fast and she didn’t know what to do. She could tell he was lying, but she didn’t have any proof and it was only making Nico freak out even worse. She decided to play along and nodded her head at him solemnly. “Alright. Okay, Nico. It’s okay. Calm down, okay?”_

_He took several deep breathes, chest heaving with the effort of it. He pulled his tank top hastily down to cover his abdomen and cleared his throat. Shooting her another forced smile, he gestured upstairs. “I’m going to go put some clothes on, okay?”_

_She gave him an equally fake smile and nodded as he moved to go to his room, watching with watery eyes how stiff he was walking. She tried to quell the nausea threatening to rise to her throat by taking some deep breathes, but it was just making it worse. Bianca had never missed her mother more than she did then, because if she was there, she would know how to make it all better._

* * *

 

    _“He came back and tried to act like nothing happened but I couldn’t let it go. How could I, after seeing him like that? My baby brother, covered in bruises and thin as a waif?”_

     “Bianca, what the fuck are you getting at? Are you trying to tell me that your father is abusive?” Percy was seething with anger, his muscles tensing the longer Bianca talked. The thought of Nico being hurt like that, especially by his father, made him sick to his stomach. There’s nothing more disgusting than a man who beats his kids in his opinion. Just the thought that Nico had to go through the same thing he once did, maybe even worse, made bile rise to his throat.

     Bianca made a small noise over the phone. _“No, Percy. Our father isn’t the best man but he has never been physically violent toward us.”_

     A group of girls walked by and giggled at him, holding coffee cups and sending him shy smiles. He grinned at them and leaned further back into the wall, lowering his voice. “Then are you telling me that…” 

    _“That Alex, the perfect boyfriend, was abusing him? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying.”_

     Percy didn’t know what to say. How was he supposed to respond to something like that? At least it wasn’t his father, but his boyfriend? The guy who he trusted to be vulnerable with? If there is one thing that Percy stood for, it was loyalty. He didn’t like when people lied to him and betraying your friends, the people you are intimate with, it is unthinkable.

     He wanted to hurt him. He wanted to hunt him down and pluck an eyelash for every bruise he had left on Nico’s small body. He wanted to throw him into the sun. He wanted to skin him alive and make him into shoes. He wanted to torture him with torture as no one has ever been tortured before in the history of torture. 

     He wanted to find Nico, hold him in his arms, and kiss away all of the hurt. 

     Knowing what Nico went through the last time he dated someone, it was easy to see why he would be a little…hesitant. But shouldn’t he have seen that Percy wouldn’t do that to him yet? Percy couldn’t think of anything he had done that would make him think that he would want to hurt him.

     Unless…someone could have told him about Rome. Was he afraid of him? That was the final thing that pushed him and Annabeth away from being in a relationship, afterall. She was afraid of him, afraid of what he could do if he needed to, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control himself. It had hurt at first, a hell of a lot, but he had got it. Some people couldn’t be involved with a—a monster, and she was obviously one of those people. 

     He still had nightmares about it. About being stuck underground, no light, no air, just dust and darkness so thick sometimes he couldn’t see Annabeth roped up next to him. He would dream about choking on that darkness, not knowing what was going or if they were going to live long enough to find out. There were some nights where he would jerk awake panting and sweating, his nightshirt clinging uncomfortably to him clammy skin, his arm throbbing with residual pain.

     On the worst nights, he would wake up as calm as the sea after a storm, heartbeat even and breaths slow and deep, rested like he just had the best sleep of his life, and the sound of the gun going off and being buried in flesh and blood and bone still ringing in his ears. He was scared of how easy it was to kill that man, and he was guilty as hell for not being guilty. Maybe Annabeth was right to be scared of him. 

     But he could never, never, do that to someone he cares about, to his friends, to anyone he thought might have not deserved it even the littlest bit. Nico had only known him for a few weeks now, and with his recent act, it wasn’t hard to believe that he could be sending mixed signals. But that didn’t mean it hurt any less. Because it did hurt, it hurt a whole fucking lot. With Nico having a past of—of abuse, together with the knowledge that Percy had killed someone before, he was surprised he let him get this close.

     “I—I had no idea. But Bianca, you have to believe me. I would never hurt Nico, not ever. I may not have known him for long, but he has to be the best person I have ever met, especially knowing what I know now.” 

    _"Percy, I have no idea if will hurt him or not. I thought Alex was perfect for Nico once and look what ended up happening. I haven’t even met you, so you will excuse me if I come off as a little protective.”_

     “I know, and I get it. And even if you can’t believe me now, maybe you will eventually. Look, Nico won’t talk to me. If he’s afraid of me hitting him, would you try to at least get him to listen to me? I want to have the chance to prove to him that I would never hit him.”

      _“Percy. Nico hasn’t even talked to me yet. I can’t promise you anything, but I could try. But you are still not getting the whole picture here.”_

     His eyebrows scrunched together as his from deepened. A horrible, aching pain was gnawing at his stomach, eating away at his calm. Without his consent, flashes of an old man’s hand caressing Annabeth’s curls, of the beaten bodies barely held together by rope, of foul breath ghosting his cheek, flashed through his mind and he unconsciously curled his hand around his bicep. 

     He thought of Nico shyly looking up at him from underneath his eyelashes, of Nico’s slowly crumbling will at the club, of the panicked look in his eyes when he had tried to get away from Percy in the bathroom of that restaurant, of the way he chewed nervously on his upper lip when Percy was leaning too close into his personal space. He thought of how Nico’s face was a mirage of broken want and shame as he finally let Percy take him in his hand and kiss across his collarbone. 

     He thought of the look on Nico’s face after he saw him and Luke kissing, of the blank expression he had given him not ten minutes earlier, cracking around the edges and leaking something dark. Something he didn’t want to see. He didn’t want to know.

_“Percy, he wasn't just hitting him. He was—he was raped."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. Want to play spot the reference? There was at least 3 of them, intentionally. Two fandom-based and another for one of my readers?
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	18. Monday, September 8th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my slushies. Yes, that is what I decided to go with; a big thanks to Shona-Ann for that.  
> I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful one and for those who didn't, I hope you had an equally wonderful Thursday. This is not my best chapter by far and it is pitiably short, so let ye be warned. This is mostly dialogue since we are wrapping up the phone call between Percy and Bianca. After this, we're going to be looking at a small time lapse.

      “What the ever living fuck do you mean by that?”

     _“I mean exactly that, Percy. Alex…Alex did some horrible things to Nico and I regret it every day that I didn’t kill that son of a bitch.”_

     “Why didn’t you, Bianca? Tell me that you pressed charges or did something to not let him get away with that. I swear if he’s still walking around happy as he pleases I will hunt him down and rip his fucking throat out!”

    _“Believe me when I say that I want nothing more that to make him regret ever being born, but I couldn’t. Nico wouldn’t let me. You have to understand, Nico loved him. Even when he was bruised and bloody and sore, he thought that boy hung the moon and the stars. He made me promise not to do anything, and the Di Angelo family does not break promises.”_

     “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not a Di Angelo yet, because I haven’t made no such promise! The day I see that fucker six feet under couldn’t come too soon.” 

     He couldn’t reconcile the two images of Nico he had in his head. How could the Nico he knows now, so beautiful and funny and kind, be the same boy that his sister was describing, broken and alone and confused? The Nico he knew now was soft-skinned and warm, and yeah, a little shy and hesitant at first, but nothing that made him suspicious that there was something going on that wasn’t a fun game of hard-to-get. 

     The thought of something happening to Nico, of someone putting their hands on his body and grasping him too tight, touching him in ways that he didn’t want, hurting him and using him like he was a thing to be used and nothing more, made him feel sick with disgust and rage. He felt bile rising in the back of his throat and his stomach was twisting in knots, hot spikes tickling the back of his eyes. 

     He was pissed at this Alex guy for hurting Nico. He was pissed at Bianca for not doing more to help him. He was pissed at their Dad for not being what a father should be and caring for his kids. He was pissed at Nico for believing that bastard loved him. 

     He was pissed at himself for giving in and sleeping with Nico, even though they didn’t really do all that much. There was no way he could have known that Nico had been…taken advantage of before, but it still hurt knowing that what he did was no better than what that other guy did. Maybe Nico liked him and didn’t see it that way, but Percy knew that what he did was wrong. He didn’t regret sleeping with Nico or for wanting to be with him, but he did regret not trying harder to get to know him first.

     _“It’s not like you’re going to run into him any time soon, but if you do, please feel free to show him what exactly his own personal hell is going to look like.” There was noise on the other end of the line that sounded like shuffling papers and then Bianca huffed loudly into the speaker. “Look, Percy, I have to go. But do you understand why this is so important? I would do anything for my brother. I just want him to finally be happy, but I will not let some playboy punk with a chip on his shoulder come in and think that he can just charm him out of his pants without any consequences. I know this might be a little much too soon, but it’s the way it is. So, I will ask you again; what are your intentions with my brother?”_

     His intentions? He intended to hang up this phone and find a quiet place where he could cool off, and then he was going to go find Nico and hug him and hold his hand and kiss the crown of his head until there was no more pain left in the world that could touch him. He was going to hold him close and smooth his hair back from his forehead and apologize for all the stupid, presumptuous shit he has done, and then he is going to talk his voice hoarse telling him all the ways he is amazing and exactly the kind of person Percy wants in his life.

     “I like Nico. I like him very much, Bianca, and there is nothing I want more than to make him forget every bad thing that has ever happened to him.” 

_“Good. That’s good, Percy. The first thing you need to do to redeem yourself and get back in my favor and Nico’s life is to trust and listen to me. You think you can do that?”_

     “Of course. Anything, Bianca.”

     _“Good. Then you need to leave him alone for a while. For at least a month.”_

     “What? No! Why would I do that?” 

     _“I asked you to trust me and you said you would. Are you going back on that?”_

     “No, no! I’m not, but a _month_? How is that supposed to help with anything?” 

     _“I know my brother and I know that he is equal parts pissed at hell at you and pissed as hell at himself. If you go and see him or try to talk to him now, it is only going to make things worse. It will be better if you give both of you time to think things through and cool off.”_

     “Yeah, but a month still seems like a long ass time to be letting things ‘cool off’. What if it only makes him hate me more or makes him realize that I’m not worth it?”

     _“Then I guess that you guys just weren’t meant to be, if that happens. But what if all that time makes him miss you more and makes him realize that you are worth it? You’ve got nothing to lose.”_

     Percy let out a whoosh of breath and rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. This wasn’t like him at all; he was more of a run into things headfirst and bully his way through the hard times and not stop until everything was better again. There was never a situation where he couldn’t force his way to finding a solution as fast as possible. 

     Bianca was asking him to wait weeks before doing anything about it. Nico was already pissed at him beyond belief, but he was hurt too. He could see it in his eyes when he finally looked at him, angry and confused and so gods be damned hurt that he felt sick to his stomach. Percy didn’t like hurting his friends but he had never seen someone look so sad before, and it was all because of him.

     He didn’t know how he was going to stay away from Nico for that long, or even if he will succeed in resisting the urge to find him and grovel on his knees before him and beg him to give him a second chance. They haven’t known each other long but he felt like he knew Nico better than anyone, and he sure as hell wanted to continue to get to know him. How was he supposed to do that if he had to stay away from him for so long?

     But Bianca is right. She has to know Nico better than he does, at least in this way, and maybe he does need time to cool off after everything. He did run off for a week before coming back to his classes after all. If it took him that long to be comfortable allowing himself to come back around, maybe he just needed time to get comfortable with being close and trusting him again. And if a month went by and Percy didn’t think whatever Bianca had planned was working, then he would just take matters into his own hands. 

     “Okay, Bianca. I’ll give it a shot. What do I do?”

     _“Exactly like I said; give him space, but don’t ignore him. I’m going to try talking to him and Hazel will probably be too. The least you do, the better. I think you’ve done enough.”_ Percy opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off like she knew he was about to huff at her. _“I know you couldn’t have known, but this is still your fault. At least you didn’t sleep with him, that would have been worse to come back from.”_

     Percy just about swallowed his tongue but he managed not to make any embarrassing noises. He stuttered out a laugh that sounded strained to his own ears and scratched at the back of his neck, glad that he was on the phone instead of talking to her in person so she couldn’t see the nervous tick. “Yeah, yeah. No, that would be…would be something.” 

     _“Damn it Percy.”_

     “What? We didn’t! Not, uh, not really. We just fooled around a bit; we didn’t actually sleep together or anything.” 

     _“Do you really think there’s that much of a difference to Nico, Percy? After everything he has been through, if you are going to think about things in that way, then you might as well throw in the towel. Nico takes these things seriously, intimacy and relationships. From what I hear, maybe he this isn’t something you can handle.”_

     Percy almost swallowed his tongue for a completely different reason, upset with himself and angry that she was using that against him. “No offense, but you don’t know anything about me. I know that’s half the problem of why you don’t trust me, but I’m the only one who knows what I think about things like intimacy and relationships. Just because I’ve been with more people than most doesn’t mean that I didn’t care for the people I was with. I’ve only had a couple of actual relationships before, but that’s the sort of relationship I keep thinking I want with Nico. If that doesn’t tell you something, then I don’t know what will.” 

     It was quiet on the other line before the sound of Bianca’s soft laughter rung in his ears. _“Okay, Percy. I’m going to believe you because you remind me of someone I know very well. I am also going to pretend that you didn’t stupidly sleep with my brother before he was ready. But don’t think I won’t kick your ass for it later. I just have bigger fish to fry at the moment.”_

     “Wouldn’t want it any other way. So what now, you talk to Nico and I just lay low? I don’t know how good I’m going to be at that, but I’ll try to be more subtle.” 

    _“I’m not saying you can’t try to talk to him or avoid seeing him, that would actually just make things worse. Just try to be his friend, Perseus, and leave the ‘something more’ out of it until later.”_

     “I really wish you would stop calling me that, it’s…not what people really call me. Only my mom, really. But I know what you mean, and I think I can do that. I’m good at the friendship thing.”

     _“Uh huh, we’ll see about that. I’ll be talking with you soon. I’ll have Hazel give you my number.”_

     “Okay, I’ll talk to you later then. Bye, Bianca.” He was pulling the phone away from his ear to end the call when her soothing voice called his name. He pressed the phone back to the side of his head and started to heads back inside the building. “Yeah?” 

     _“If this doesn’t work out or you hurt my brother ever again, I will skin your dick and cook it into gnocchi. Capisce?”_

     She hung up without waiting for his answer, leaving him standing there half way in the door with his mouth hanging wide open, hand making a halting grab for his crotch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	19. Monday, September 8th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Finals went better than expected, but I have discovered the dangers of drinking coffe and energy drinks interchangeably and in excess. My stomach won't return my calls and I doubt it'll forgive me anytime soon. Thanks to all who wished me luck and I hope everyone who had finals survived, and if you are still taking them, good luck still!  
> Happy (slightly late) birthday, NicoDiAngeloLover7!  
> I promise this is going to be the last damn chapter on Monday, Spetember the 8th. Hot damn, I can't tell you how much that was bugging me.

    He knew it wouldn’t be long before she came to check on him even though he would have been grateful for a couple more hours or days or years to collect himself as much as possible. Honestly, he’s lucky she waited until that night instead of following him after he stormed away from their little group. But just because he was expecting it didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. 

    The doorknob turned a little after the sun set and he burrowed further under his comforter, eyes peaking out to see if Grover was going to try to talk to him. Instead of seeing Grover’s ridiculous beanie he was met with cinnamon curls and a kind smile.

     He sighed and turned on his side facing away from her, knowing that if they were going to have this conversation, he wouldn’t be able to look her in the eyes and go through with it. “I locked the door, you know?” 

     Her voice was soft when she answered. He felt the bed dip behind him and then there was a gentle hand smoothing down his hair. “I know. Grover gave me his key. Annabeth is going to stay with Piper so Grover can stay with Juniper tonight. I’m bunking with you, so suck it up.” 

     Hazel fell silent and he allowed her hand to run back and forth over his bed-head. If she was expecting a response, Nico really didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want her to see him like this and he was so exhausted from keeping his mask up that he didn’t know if he could even fake a smile anymore. But a selfish part of him wanted to turn over and bury his head in her shoulder, let her smooth his hair and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

     There was no way he would allow himself to do that, though. Even if he wanted to talk about the mess of feelings that were twisting his stomach and lurking in the form of dark shadows in his mind, he couldn’t put that burden on her. Hazel was almost a year older than him, but he had always taken on the role of her big brother in their relationship. There used to be nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her from the evils of the world, even when he wasn’t doing such a hot job of listening to his own advice, and she would always used to look up to him as an example, despite him only being a kid. 

     Now look at him; Hazel was the one with a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to talk and doing what’s best for him. That was supposed to be his job, and now he was so broken that he couldn’t even do that anymore. He was a failure as lover, as a friend, as a son, and now as a brother. If he couldn’t keep his sisters from worrying about him and be there for them, then what good was he? 

     He couldn’t open up to her like that and become a bigger failure in her eyes, but the hole he felt ripping up his chest hurt so much. The day had been so emotionally and physically draining. His body wasn’t used to throwing up so often, and he sure as hell didn’t miss the numbing pain he used to feel when he knew he was a disappointment. He realized now that it never really went away; he just ignored it long enough for it to go to the back of his mind. But now it was back with a vengeance and he thought maybe he could be just a little selfish for just a little bit longer. 

     Swallowing the lump in his throat, he rolled so that he could curl around Hazel’s small body, pulling her down to lay down with him so that he could grip her fiercely around the waist. He knew what he must look like, with his eyes still red and watery, the perpetual dark bags under his eyes that showed just how pale he really was. There were only two people he could trust to look like this around and one of them was literally on the other side of the country, but he knew that Hazel wouldn’t say anything about it. He was right; she just held him close and hummed to him until his eyes felt dry and he felt a headache come from straining his eyes too much. 

     When he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, Hazel looked down at him with a small smile. “Headache?”

     He nodded and she extracted herself from his arms and fetched her purse, pulling out a bottle of pain reliever and a water bottle. “I figured you would need this. I know you get those real bad migraines, so it’s better safe than sorry.” 

    He dutifully swallowed the pills she gave him and sipped at the water. The water was cool running down his throat but it just reminded him how empty his stomach was. Putting the bottle aside he got up to exchange his jeans for a comfortable pair of sweatpants. Hazel turned politely away and pulled one of his comic books off his desk to flip through.

    It was probably asking too much for the pain reliever to kick in right away, but it still would have been nice. He sat down next to Hazel on the bed and got out his cleaning supplies, plopping his contacts out of his sensitive eyes and putting them in the solution. He shouldn’t have left them in for so long, but they weren’t his top priority over the last week. 

     After he had shoved his glasses onto his face, he grabbed a comic book and joined Hazel lounging against his headboard. They spent a long time in silence, the only sound penetrating the room being the quiet friction of pages being turned and their soft exhales. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he was startled out of his perusing of Captain America fighting to save the Union in the Civil War by a tender murmur. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” 

     He wants nothing more than to tell her what is going on, to let her call Bianca and have them talk on the phone for hours, to tell him that it isn’t his fault that he’s so broken and that trusting Percy was a mistake. Hazel would wrap him in a warm blanket and hug him for all he’s worth while Bianca would croon the soft Italian lullaby that their mother used to hum them to sleep with. He wants to be told he is loved, that he’s worth loving, that he’s capable of loving back.

     “I was stupid, Hazel.” 

     “What do you mean, sweetie?” 

     He saw her put the comic book down out of the corner of his eye so he closed his own and put it down on his lap, staring at the vivid colors on the cover. She was petting his hair again, and he could tell that she was trying to meet his eyes but she wasn't forcing him yet, so he just sighed and ran his fingers over Cap’s shield. “I just should have known better, is all. To like Percy, I mean. To let him get close to me.” 

     “I don’t think it was a mistake to like Percy, Nico.” 

     His head whipped toward her, eyes confused and unbelieving. “Of course it was, Haze. How could you say that?” Her hand dropped away from his head as she reached for his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Swallowing, he forced his eyes away and squeezed her hand back before continuing. “I don’t blame him, though. I mean, yeah, I’m mad at him. I am so unbelievably mad at him, but I’m more upset with myself. I knew his reputation and I still let him in, and that’s all my fault.” 

     “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, y’know? He’s my friend, and I don’t have bum friends.” 

     Nico looked up at her with a ghost of a shadow and quirked an eyebrow at her words. “Yeah, but apparently there’s a lot about you I didn’t know before. Jell-o shots, dancing, condoning illegal parking? I didn’t know you were such a wild woman, Hazel.” 

     She let out a laugh and poked him in his side, not stopping until he was turning on his side to get away from her, wheezing laughs escaping his throat unwillingly. When he felt his glasses digging uncomfortably into his nose from his cheek pressing into his pillow, he flapped his hands at her and yelled “uncle, uncle!” They were both giggling as Hazel let up on her attack and draped herself over his back. 

     His throat felt scratchy and he had tears pricking at the back of his eyes, and it felt so good to laugh, but now that gaping black hole was back swirling in his chest and he couldn’t let her see him cry again. So he sniffed as quietly as he could and tried to sound happy when he spoke. “Remember that one time at the Lotus when Bianca and I wanted to go down to the arcade and you threw a bitch fit because dad told us to stay in the room?” 

     Hazel snorted unattractively and flipped onto her back. He rolled over with her and smirked when she crossed her arms over her chest. “That one time? You mean every time he shut us up in the Lotus?”

     “Semantics. You were still a total baby about it. I don’t understand how you kicked off your goodie two-shoes to join the rest of our age group, but I’m glad you did.”

     “I was not a goodie two-shoes! I just thought we were too young to be out doing stuff we weren’t supposed to be doing, somewhere nobody else knew where we were. Especially since dad told us very specifically to stay in the room, and he is our father and we should have really listened to him and—” 

     Her words stuck in her throat when she looked over to see Nico trying and failing to hold back his laughter, face tinged pink and eyes squinted shut. His eyes opened and peeked at her from underneath long lashes when he realized she stopped talking, still sad and a little glassy, but clearer than they were before. 

     He didn’t look like the Nico he was when they had just met, still kids and grieving for their mothers, and he didn’t look like the Nico he was when they were pre-teens, back when he and Bianca would sneak sips from their dads liquor cabinet and she would scold them and laugh when they would turn green and retch at the taste. He didn’t look like the Nico who she saw less and less of when they were teenagers but who she could tell was hurting, and he didn’t look like the Nico he was when she finally found out from Bianca why he was hurting so much. He looked like the Nico he was now, in more pain than he would ever admit to any one, not even himself, putting on a brave face and believing if he was good enough, if he acted like he was supposed to, he would be a real boy. It wasn’t ideal, but she would take it. It was better than him being the withdrawn, scared boy she had seen not ten minutes ago, crying into her shoulder like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders alone. 

     “You’re never going to let that go, are you?” 

     She didn’t get an answer but the laugh lines around his mouth were answer enough. It took him a little while to catch his breath, leaning heavily into her side and clutching at his stomach, but when he did, she saw the split second cloud of guilt coloring his dark eyes before it disappeared behind the walls of a too wide smile. “Never, sorella. What about that one time that Bianca stole a tube of Chap Stick from that gas station and you cried over the injustice of it and wouldn’t stop until you had Charon turn the limo around so she could return it and apologize to the cashier?” 

     “I was young and on my period!” Nico’s eyes finally met hers again as they widened at her in horror. Laughter exploded out of her throat and she found herself in the same position Nico was before, head buried in his shoulder to try to keep in her giggles. She could feel his laughter shuddering through shoulders, so he must not have been too disgusted. 

     “Well,” he continued, “what about when you caught Bianca macking on that bellhop and you gave her a lecture on why she wasn’t supposed to kiss boys before marriage and telling her that she had to marry the kid now because they had ‘swapped spit’?” 

     “Okay, okay! Are you just going to regale me on every less than flattering thing I’ve done? Because I believe I recall walking in on a certain tea party with Pokémon stuffed animal guests and—”

     A hand was stuffed over her mouth before she could finish. “You promised we’d never talk about that again!” 

     With a sharp screech, he quickly pulled his hand back and wiped it on his comforter. Hazel was howling with laughter as she watched her brother’s disgusted face and in that moment, there was barely any trace of sadness left lingering in his eyes. He shoved her playfully and huffed when she shoved him back. “You’re disgusting.” 

     Nico stretched over her and set his glasses and comic on the desk, not without making sure his armpit was shoved right above her face while he was at it. She retaliated by smacking him in the arm and shoving him back until he was almost wedged between the wall and the mattress. They both tucked themselves under the blankets and rolled till they were facing each other. Hazel reached back and turned off the light, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Nico’s were already closed. 

    In the dark everything felt quieter, so her voice came out as a whisper when she spoke. “You’re horrible at misdirection, by the way, but I’ll let it slide this one time. Just tell me whether you’re going to be okay or not.” 

     He didn’t answer right away, and as the minutes ticked by, she almost didn’t think he would. If she didn’t know that it was impossible, she would have thought that he had fallen asleep already. 

     When he did, more than ten minutes later, it came out as a whisper as well. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’ll be okay.” They both knew that wasn’t true. And if the way Nico turned to face the other direction broke a little piece of Hazel’s heart, nobody had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	20. Tuesday, September 9th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, lovies! I hope that everyone had a wonderful day. I have one last gift for you; a new chapter! And this one is a bit longer than the previous few :)
> 
> Warning for homophobic language.

Tuesday, September 9th

     The sheer amount of concentration he was exerting was causing him to break out into a sweat, his hand twitching nervously toward his pocket and his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down with each dry swallow of his throat. He could feel his gaze on the side of his face, like the rays of the sun beating down upon him. Except the sun felt like it was looming too close to the Earth, roasting him in his seat.

     It didn’t matter that he hadn’t shown up until he was nearly late, or that he sat on the complete opposite side of the room than him, because as soon as he entered the room and sat down, the beautiful fool had gathered his stuff and moved across the room to take the seat next to his. He could have gotten up to find another seat, but class was starting and he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. The smug bastard would probably just follow him, anyway. And what gave him the right to still act like his happy, go-lucky self, like nothing had happened between them, like he had done nothing to break Nico’s heart? But he was done feeling that way. No; he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

     So that was why he refused to give in and turn to his right. He refused to make eye contact with another of his mistakes; and that’s what he was no matter what Hazel said. He refused to look at him. Maybe that was the coward’s way out, but he was being brave enough, in his opinion. He was here wasn’t he?

     The sun might be striking down on him, threatening to wear him down and make him cave, make him revert back to how he used to be, how he’s still feeling, but he could brave the heat. It was a good thing that he had so much of his mother in him, he was counting on his impenetrable pale skin to withstand the heat and his Italian blood to keep him strong. That same blood would get him in trouble; if he wasn’t careful, he might blow up, and he wasn’t sure which emotion it would be.

     He might be hot blooded and prone to extreme expressions of emotion, but he was also stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be. He was strong for his madre’s funeral, he was strong when he found out his father cheated on his mother and had another kid with the woman, and he was strong when he had more blue skin than olive and no one would talk to him for months. That last one he might have deserved, and he probably deserved all of it for being such a worthless human being, but he was still strong. And he would be strong now. Although resisting the urge was turning out to be harder than he imagined it would be.

     When Professor Chiron bid them good day, he had his backpack slung over his shoulder and was half way out the door before the others were even standing. He wasn’t running, he wasn’t. He was going at a brisk walk. He was probably running in some poetic, metaphorical sense, but he chose to ignore that part.

     There was a hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm, and then he really was running. The hand slid off his shoulder. He kept running, dodging between other students, his backpack swinging uncomfortably on his back and making his breath come in faster. He couldn’t stop, he could hear him following behind him, panting and probably gaining on him. He was without a doubt in better shape than him and could run faster even on his worst day, but Nico was small and evasive, and there were plenty of people out to lose him in.

     “Nico! Wait!”

     He ran harder. He ran around a group of girls in yoga pants and sipping Starbucks, ducked under a banner some students were trying to hang, jumped haphazardly over a flower bed, and then flew through the door of the university bus before it started to take off. His pursuer was far enough behind him that by the time he caught up, the doors were closed and they were already moving.

     Only when he was sure that the bus wouldn’t be stopping any time soon did he slump down in a seat in the back and let out a sigh of relief. He rested his head on the cool glass of the window, staring at his reflection staring right back at him. It was easier to meet his hollow eyes than pay attention to the blur of dark hair and green eyes running beside the bus until he could no longer keep up, slowly widening the distance between them.

     He closed his eyes. Now he had to figure out where this bus was going and how he was supposed to get back to campus before his next class.

 

* * *

 

 

Wednesday, September 10th

     He didn’t want to be here. He really didn’t want to be here. In fact, he almost didn’t come. But Ben-Brad-Benji-what’s-his-face, by some miracle, or rather curse, tried to talk his ear off and held him up after class just long enough for Hazel show up and sweetly offer to walk him to class. That traitor.

     She kissed him on his cheek and skipped off to Frank, leaving him hanging out by the door and arguing with the voices in his head.

     He was already here, so he might as well go ahead and go in. But then he would see him, there was no doubt about it. So, what? Let him get the last laugh and think we’re too weak to face him? We are too weak to face him. But we don’t want him to know that do we? Why are we even still thinking about him? Aren’t we supposed to not care anymore? That’s right. We don’t care anymore.

     He didn’t know whether to be more concerned that he was talking to himself like he was more than one person or that the voices that were answering him sounded like a leather belt and a soothing voice, telling him that it was okay, that he was only getting what he deserved and what was best for him.

     But they were right, Alex was right. Percy was supposed to be nothing to him anymore. He would be nothing to him. He will be nothing to him. He is nothing to him. He’s nothing but dust in the wind.

     He took a deep breath and cast his eyes downward, moved through the room, sat down next to his sister, got out his book and read. His eyes never left the page but he knew exactly where to look if he wanted to glance up and meet his eyes. He didn’t.

     When people started to get up, he packed his book away and headed for the door, and when he saw someone try to grab his elbow out of the corner of his eye, he walked a little faster. He called out to him again, but he heard his sister’s voice scold him. “Percy, not now…”

     He didn’t stick around to hear the rest.

 

* * *

 

 

Thursday, September 11th

     He still sat next to him in class and he still tried to bore holes into the side of his head, but Nico still ignored him. He didn’t try to talk to him again.

 

* * *

 

Saturday, September 13th

     Grover had started to come back to the dorm again at night the day after Hazel left. He always showed up shortly before he settled in to go to sleep, and never tried to get him to talk. The most he did was nod at him in greeting and give him lazy smiles when he wakes up in the morning.

     He was there today, though. It was the weekend and he told him that Juniper had to work that day, asked if it was alright if he stayed in for the day, like he needed Nico’s permission to be in his own dorm room. He glanced up at him briefly, said “It’s your room too.”, and went back to doing the homework he had missed when he was ‘gone’ and by some miracle his teachers were allowing him to make up for some credit. It was times like this that made him happy that SOCU wasn’t like other colleges and seemed to actually care about its students’ success.

     It was getting to be late afternoon and Grover had already offered him breakfast and lunch, both of which he had refused, and he was getting worried that Grover would start asking questions if he refused dinner too.

     There was a knock at the door. Nico’s hand paused over his paper, mid sentence, and stopped breathing. Slowly, he looked up and over at Grover, who was munching on Cheetos and playing on his phone. They looked at each other in silence for a minute before Nico turned pointedly back to his paper.

     Grover sighed before licking the cheese off his fingers and bouncing off his bed. He heard the door open and then there was a deep voice asking, “Can I see him?” He held his breath and waited to see what Grover would do. When he didn’t hear anything, he shook his head, left and right, left and right, left and right, and then put his head down on the desk.

     “I don’t think so, man.”

     His breathing was erratic, coming in rougher and shorter, and he closed his eyes in hope that the room would stop spinning. He could hear them talking, but just barely over the rush of his blood in his ears and the harsh whisper in his mind, chanting over and over again how much of a coward he is.

     “Nico? Nico! Hey, I’m going out, okay? I’ll be back.”

     He didn’t say anything; he did not even raise his head off the desk or open his eyes. He just moved his head marginally on the desk in what he hoped counted as a nod. Apparently Grover thought that was a good of an answer as any, because he was soon out the door and he was left alone.

     When Grover came back hours later, asking if he wanted to get something to eat, he told him that he ate while he was out.

 

* * *

 

Friday, September 19th

     “Nico?”

     He had him cornered. Percy hadn’t tried to talk to him much since Grover turned him away last weekend, only saying hello to him when he came into class, which he never acknowledged, or to say goodbye when he was leaving class, which he also ignored. He didn’t know if it was by pure coincidence or a deliberate tactic on Percy’s part, but he hadn’t run into him at all outside of class.

     But something was different about today, apparently. Today, Nico had let his guard down and trusted that Percy was going to continue to give him space, but instead he had followed him and now he was stuck in the men’s restroom with Percy blocking the door.

     His breath was coming in heavier, like it had been doing every time he has seen Percy since The Incident. He was looking down at his hands, still soapy and held just beyond the spray of the sink. The bubbles were sliding down his hands and dripping into the sink. The water was rushing down the drain and echoing off the walls. He could see his reflection in the mirror, or he could, if he had the courage to look up.

     He closed his eyes and finished washing, keeping his head down as he dried them. Those electronic hand dryers that tried to blow your skin off never made sense to Nico. They made his stomach churn seeing his skin distorted like that, but at the same time, it fascinated him. What was wrong with the other hand dryers? They worked just as well, and they probably scared kids a whole lot less. He knows that his “little brother” back in L.A. was scared of them.

     The dryer had stopped, and his hands were dry, but he didn’t move away from it. He wasn’t prepared for this. He hadn’t spent the last week thinking about what had happened between them and he sure as hell hadn’t thought about what was going to happen between them in the future, whether he even wanted to be friends with him or not. If he even _could_ still be friends with him.

     How was he supposed to talk to him? Like they did before all this? How had he talked to him before all this bullshit? Was there even a before for him to think back on? Honestly, Nico had been avoiding him for longer than he had known him. He barely knew the guy, so there was no reason for him to get all bent out of shape about it. He’ll just talk to him just like he would any other near stranger. Because that’s what he is, a stranger.

     He turned around and faced him, and for the first time in almost two weeks, he really looked at him.

     He looked like shit. His hair, which had always been artfully tousled and messy, was jacked to hell, sticking up in odd places and sporting cowlicks above his forehead. His tan skin looked sallow and he had bruises under his eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days. There were holes in his jeans, which were hanging loosely as opposed to his usual clinging material, and his shirt looked like it hadn’t been washed since he bought it.

     But his eyes…his eyes looked wrecked. Worse than shattered glass, his eyes looked like nothing he had ever seen before. There wasn’t a broken stare from any of the boys he had seen in his “little brother’s” house that were as ruined as Percy’s were right then. It broke his heart. But a part of him was almost…a little bit happy at the sight, for knowing that he isn’t the only one hurting in this. Maybe that was a little sick, but it gave him the courage to look Percy in the eyes and see what he wants.

     “Percy.”

     “Hey. Um, how are you doing?”

     Nico met his eyes and cocked an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t respond. Percy fidgeted a little, fingers twitching and being raised to rub the back of his neck. He was doing well. He acknowledged him and even spoke to him. Albeit, it was only his name, but that was more than he was expecting it to amount to. But he wasn’t going to answer stupid questions, and he definitely wasn’t going to answer any questions that might have led to a discussion on feelings or what had happened between them.

     Percy seemed to get that, or at least he noticed that he wasn’t going to get an answer, because he cleared his throat and put on his usual cocky ass smile. It was shaky and nowhere near as effortless as it had been when he had first met him, but it made him look just as handsome, disheveled hair and baggy eyes be damned.

     “So, the Greek hero who fought that tiger was Hercules, right?”

     “…It was a Nemean lion and it was Heracles. Hercules was his name in Roman mythology.”

     He knew that Percy had already known the answer to that, and he also knew that it was not even close to being subtle subject change, but it was a start.

 

* * *

 

Monday, September 22nd

    “Hey, Nico? What, uh, what book are you reading today?”

     “…It. It’s Stephen King.”

     “Oh. Cool.”  

     “…Have you read it?”

     “Uh, no. I haven’t.”

     “Oh. Cool.”

 

* * *

 

 Thursday, September 25th

     “So. How about that Polyphemus, huh? He’s crazy.”

     “…I can sympathize with him.”

     “Oh. Yeah. I mean, that’s what I meant. Crazy sad story.”

     “…”

     “Nico?”

     “…Yes, Percy?”

     “Yeah. Never mind.”

 

* * *

 

 Tuesday, September 30th

     “So, uh. How was your weekend, Nico?”

     “…You asked me that yesterday.”

     “Oh. Right. Yeah, I did. Uh, has your answer changed?”

     “…No.”

     “Cool. Mine either.”

     “…Percy?”

     “Yeah? Yeah, Nico?”

     “You’re a goof.”

     “Ouch! Right in the feels, Neeks!”

     “Don’t call me Neeks.”

     “Oh, Yeah. Sorry…”

 

* * *

 

Wednesday, October 8th

     “It’s been a month. It has been exactly thirty fucking days and I have not once overstepped my bounds. I have only talked to him about things only a friend would and I haven’t tried to touch him, not even once. I have been good, I have been really, really, really fucking good. Now can I please, please, please talk to him now? I’m ready. I’m so fucking ready to tell him how sorry I am and how much I just want to get to know him. Okay? I like him, I still really like him. It’s been thirty days since I have really talked to him about anything except class stuff or useless shit like the weather. Seriously, the fucking weather! I have never cared about the weather less than I do now. I am begging you; please give me permission to court your fucking brother now, please.”

     “Well. Hazel says you’ve been good, too. So, I suppose you have my permission to…interact with my brother again.”

     “Yes! Fucking yes! Thank you, thank you so much!”

     “Percy! Hey, listen to me. I’ve said it before, but I am going to say it again. If you hurt my brother, there will be absolutely nothing that will stop me from making your life the most wretchedly miserable piece of existence that ever was, is, or will be. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

     “Yeah, Bianca. I get it, really. I promise on everything that I hold dear in my life that I will do everything in my power to make Nico the happiest person on earth. That’s all I want to do.”

     “Good, because that’s what he deserves. Oh, and Percy?”

     “Yeah?”

     “Just because you’ve been good and have my permission to try to fix your stupid mistake, it doesn’t mean you should rush into it. From what I hear, he’s talking to you now, which is good. But like you’ve said, you guys haven’t really been talking about anything worthwhile. I can tell you like my brother, Percy. And before all this, I know that Nico liked you, too. I’ve seen him like this before. It’s the way that he works, like his very own safety blanket. And you can’t yank it away too fast.”

     “I won’t. I won’t.”

     “Start slow, yeah? I’m proud of you, don’t screw that up.”

 

* * *

 

     Bianca ended the call and placed her phone on the table. Honestly, she was surprised that he had waited this long. When she gave him that ultimatum a month ago, she hadn’t expected him to go along with it, but he did. He did and she was genuinely surprised. He didn’t strike her as a person who waited to get what he wanted. When he did agree, she thought that he would last a week, maybe two at most if he was really dedicated.

     She almost feared that he would lose interest instead of sticking to the plan. Afterall, they had known each other for so little time. But Nico had always been the type of person who took up with people real fast. When they still lived in Italy, their mama used to say that there wasn’t a single person, big or small, that Nico wasn’t friends with. Even after she had died and they moved to the states, their father never letting them stay in one place long enough for them to really make friends, he had always made it a point to get to know everyone he met. Maybe it was because he couldn’t have friends with how much they moved around, but he was always friendly to everyone.

     Then they moved to L.A., he was so excited about staying in one place for longer than two weeks that he couldn’t wait to get enrolled in the local school system. He tried so hard to make friends, but for some reason, no one would give him the time of day. It was the first time that he hadn’t been able to make every person he met fall in love with him. But then he met Alex, and their connection was instant. She had never seen him happier than he was when he was with Alex.

     After everything that had happened between them, with first Alex and his ‘friends’ ignoring him, and then the whole school, something had changed in him. He no longer had a smile on his face whenever they went out and he stopped saying hello to people he met in the streets. He became suspicious and closed off. She was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to put his trust in someone ever again.

     It was more than shocking when Hazel told him about this Percy who Nico seemed to be completely taken with. And when Nico had told her about him himself, she could tell that Nico was gone on him, utterly gone on him.

     She had been wary at first, and she believed that she damn well had the right to be. She didn’t want to help Nico recover from another broken heart, watching him kill himself over someone who wasn’t worth his tears. But she has a good feeling about this one. There is something about Percy that interests her, something that tells her that she can trust him. He seems genuine, real, and caring; things that Alex definitely was not. And if Nico felt like he could trust him enough to give him a chance after everything he had went through, then who was she to say otherwise?

     Not that she was putting all her cards on the table, but she kind of like this Perseus Jackson. His name had a nice ring to it, did it not? Perseus Di Angelo, or perhaps Niccolò Jackson? Their mother forbid that they are even close to something like that, if she would even let him get that close to her brother, but it was something to think about. If he makes her brother happy again, she might even become ordained and marry them herself. Then she can arrange Percy’s funeral if he gets out of her favor. She always thought as a child that the canals running behind their nonno’s house were perfect for hiding bodies.

     Her phone vibrated against the table, jarring her out of her thoughts. She looked at the caller ID and shot out of her chair.

     “Zoe! Hi, shoot, what time is it? I didn’t know it was getting so late. I’ll be there in just a minute, I promise I remembered. This isn’t me trying to get out of babysitting, I swear.”

     She grabbed her purse and was half way out the door when she remembered she didn’t grab her keys. Running back, she jumped over her couch and shoved her keys in her mouth, grabbing a doughnut on the way past the kitchen.

     “Uh huh. Okay, give me fifteen minutes. No! Actually give me half an hour and I’ll buy them dinner. I’ll be there right after, kay?”

     She started her car and threw her phone in the back seat while backing out of her parking spot, almost crashing into a minivan when she put on the gas too fast. She had never been more thankful that there was a McDonalds just down the street from her apartment, and she pulled into lot not three minutes later, taking one look at the line at the drive through lane and pulling into park in the first free spot she found.

     She rushed inside and got in line, looking at the menu and deciding if a seven year old would want a Big Mac or if she should just stick to Happy Meals. She didn’t pay attention when a loud group came in and got in line behind her. She didn’t think anything about it until a deep voice behind her called out her name.

     “Bianca?”

     She turned toward the group of young men behind her, all younger and bulkier than her and wearing cruel smirks. The one who spoke to her was in the middle flanked by his two friends, blond hair hanging attractively over his icy eyes, eyes that could cut glass.

     “Alex.”

     His lips pulled back further over his teeth, revealing his sharp canines. That smile could probably charm the pants off of anyone without trying if it weren’t for the sadistic glint in his eyes.

     “Fancy seeing you here, sweet cheeks. How is our dear Nico? Still wasting away in his room, mourning his very existence?”

     Her eyes flashed with anger and she took a menacing step towards him. His buddies, wearing far too little clothing for October and sneering just as scathingly, shifted next to him, crossing their arms over their chests. She looked back and forth between them and held her ground.

     “Relying on your buddies for protection now a days, huh, Alexander? Afraid you’ll get your ass kicked by yourself?”

     He grunted at her and in that moment, seeing him twitch in anger and snarling his displeasure, she couldn’t see a single thing about him that Nico could have possibly found attractive. He was pathetic, and not worth her time. She huffed at him and turned back to the counter, moving up in line.

     “I don’t hit women, but I made an exception for that little fag of a brother of yours. Real sweet thing, he was. Only good for sucking cock and taking a beating like a pro. Tell me, has he killed himself yet?”

     She whipped around and brought her hand across his face before she even became aware she was moving. His friends looked at each other in confusion, unsure what to do, as he lifted his face to glare at her heatedly, his cheek beginning to redden.

     Before either of them could say anything, an employee had put a hand on each of their shoulders and demanded their attention. “Is there a problem here? Violence won’t be tolerated, you best get out if you’re going to cause problems before I call the police.”

     Bianca glanced momentarily at the worker before returning her glare back to Alex. “No, there isn’t a problem. Is there?” Alex shook his head and took a step back from her. The worker looked at them warily before warning them again and retreating back behind the counter.

     She turned around and stepped up to a cash register, ordered her food and stood back to wait. Alex and his buddies came to stand next to her, snickering and twisting their mouths at her, but she didn’t turn to give them the pleasure of making her squirm.

     Their food came up before her and they left after blowing her mocking kisses. She grabbed her food and left before she threw a fit in front of all these people. When she made it to the parking lot, Alex was leaning back against her car, smirking at her humorously.

     “Where are your henchmen, huh? Decide it wasn’t worth it to protect your sorry ass?”

     He laughed and slid over to block the driver side door. “Maybe I just wanted to get you alone, sweetheart. Think you take it just as sweetly as your brother?”

     “You remember when I said if I ever saw you again I would kill you? Well, Nico isn’t here to stop me. Now I suggest you get out of my sight before I have to get my hands dirty in front of all these nice people.”

     He just laughed at her again, leaning back more fully against the door. “All I want to know is if Nico is just as miserable as when I left him, bloody and whimpering on the floor.”

     “If you ever lay your hands on my brother again I will kill you. Do you hear me? Now get the fuck out of my way, you scumbag.”

     They looked at each other for what seemed like years before he raised his hands in mock surrender and stepped away from her car. She bumped into him harshly with her shoulder while going past him and climbed in her car. He was still standing there, smug as he could be, watching her like he had just won something. She wanted to wipe that smile off his face.

     “And Nico is happy now, you bastard. Happier than you could ever had made him, and he has someone who treats him the way he deserves, like royalty. You will never have the chance to mess his life up again because he is as far away from you as possible.”

     Alex’s eyes darkened and his face became thunderous. “Is that right? Surprised you let him leave your side.”

     Bianca furrowed her brows and clenched her jaw. “He’s not alone, and he’s happy. That’s all that matters. He has his other sister to protect him from douche bags like you, and I’m just a phone call away, not that he can’t take care of himself. Now don’t you dare ever show your face to me again, or I’ll run you over with my car.”

     “Sure thing, _Bia_.” His chest was heaving and his face was red from more than the slap she had given him. “His sister, huh? What makes him think he has the right to be happy, the worthless human being that he is?”

     She reversed her car and growled at him through the window. “If I ever see you again, I will fucking kill you.”

     She drove past him and refrained from running him over by only a grain of sand. She pulled out of the parking lot and peeled down the road, seeing red and trying not to drive too fast in her anger.

     How she made it to her friend’s house and watched her kids without being called out on her behavior, she has no idea. Outwardly, she might have been all smiles and usual friendly demeanor, but on the inside, she was so angry she could hardly think.

     It wasn’t until later that night after she had been relieved from her babysitting duties and was lying in bed contemplating calling Hazel that she remembered the way Alex’s eyes had hardened at hearing that Nico was happy, how his whole body had tensed and became rigid. He looked half crazed and completely murderous. She didn’t know what to do with that, but for some reason, that look scared her a little bit.

     She wasn’t scared of Alex, but she was scared of how much power he held over Nico, because they were each other’s weak spots. Nico might have loved him, but Alex was obsessed with him. She was just glad that Nico was out of his reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Starbucks, Cheetos, Stephen King's It, any of the mythology mentioned, or McDonalds and their products. I'm just a sad college kid with nothing to my name. 
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	21. Friday, October 22nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely have mixed feelings about 2014, but I'm mostly glad it's almost over. Short chapter, but I wanted to get a last one out to you guys before the New Year. Be safe tonight and I'll see you guys next year.
> 
> (That joke will never get old, stop rolling your eyes at me.)

Friday, October 22nd

     “I was thinking coffee and bagels this morning, what do you think? Wanna head over to Olympia real quick?”

     Nico pulled his jacket tighter over his chest and glanced briefly over to his companion. Percy had gone through yet another change since – The Incident – and has managed to completely confuse the hell out of Nico once again. It was one thing to ignore him when he was absent, and another to annoyingly try to act like nothing was wrong and talk to him like he was any other classmate. But now it seems that he has made it his life mission to be with Nico every single chance he gets. He couldn’t decide if he regretted starting to talk to him again if this was the punishment, everything he wanted but not enough, painful and just plain cruel.

     But he couldn’t put a stop to it even if he tried. His body and his heart couldn’t let him, his knees going weak and pulse sky rocketing every time he Percy’s name, but his brain was the worst of all. At least the rest of him was dead set on not giving up on Percy, but his damn brain couldn’t make up its stupid fucking mind and it was honestly starting to piss him off. This No-Emotions Policy wasn’t working for him.

     On the one hand, he knew that continuing to be around Percy was a bad idea and it was just going to result in more pain and lonely nights. It would probably be best if he forgot about him, him and Alex, altogether and just live his own life. He didn’t have to find someone else to fill the spaces in his heart they left behind, he could just be happy by himself, he knew he could be. And who knows, maybe there is someone waiting for him just down the road that is going to make him the best version of himself. But that idea hurt worse than anything, so he quickly let it rest. Besides, he knew Percy would stop if he asked him to, he just hasn’t.

     Percy acted like he wanted them to be friends, and just friends up until recently, but he didn’t trust his judgment on that after what happened last time. He still didn’t know if he wanted to be friends with him anymore.

     That was a lie. He wanted everything that Percy would give him, even if he wanted more, he would take it. If the only way that he could keep him in his life was as a friend, then he would gladly agree to the terms and conditions and pretend to gloss them over. He would be miserable but he would be happy.

     That was why he couldn’t bring himself to say anything about the once again new Percy he was meeting. For almost two weeks now, besides when he had class or when he was working, the green eyed nightmare had been showing up to his dorm every morning to walk him to his classes and get breakfast. It wasn’t just breakfast, though. He would show up after his classes sometimes to escort him to his next one, he would find him on his breaks to hang out or try to force food into him, and he sat next to him in the two classes they share, talking a mile a minute and never expecting him to respond. He walked him to his dorm when he had the day off, he walked him to work, he even showed up at night sometimes to ‘hang out’. He never let him in at night, though, it was harder at night.

     He didn’t know how he wasn’t losing his mind with Percy hanging around so much. He was sure that seeing him ten times a day would tire him out and strengthen his resolve to cut him out of his life, but it didn’t. In fact, it only made him want him more, and he hated that.

     “I don’t want to go there, I work tonight.”

     “No, you don’t! It’s Friday, you don’t work Friday nights.”

     Nico glanced over at him and stared at the spot where their shoulders brushed when they walked, or more accurately, Nico’s shoulder and Percy’s upper arm. “I took an extra shift from Thals.”

     “But I wanted to ask if you wanted to do something tonight.”

     Nico walked a little faster. Just because he has allowed himself to hang out with Percy when the occasion – read, when Percy showed up randomly throughout the day – occurred, that didn’t mean that he could handle hanging out with him in different circumstances.

     “Sorry.”

     Percy was silent for a while, up until they reached his class. Nico hesitated by the door, waiting for him to say something. They stood there in silence, staring at anything but each other. Nico was fascinated by the fray on the end of Percy’s shoelace, and he was pretty sure Percy had taken an extreme interest in the faded picture of Robert Plant on his T-shirt.

     He should really get going, but he couldn’t leave with Percy looking like he wanted to say something. It was pathetic, but what else could he do?

     “Hey, Nico! You finish your reading for class today? Wanna explain it to me?”

     Nico turned to look at the boy looming in the doorway, ginger hair drooping into his eyes. He knew for a fact that he was one of the best students in class behind Nico himself, and that Mrs. Dodds – Professor, whatever Hazel – had not assigned a reading for that day because they were talking about their midterm essays.

     But he could also see the concern flickering in his eyes. Maybe he had heard a little about what was going on, maybe he was even at the party and saw it happen. He had been weird since Nico came back to school; a mix of giving him his space and being even more persistent than usual. Not that he would ever admit it, but he actually kind of liked the guy. He was nice, in an annoying, endearingly dumb kind of way.

     He looked back at Percy and frowned at the look he was giving Ben-Brad-Benji. Did he really think that he had the right to look like that after his little stunt with the nice blond guy he was sucking face with? He hadn’t given him any reason to think that he was sweet on what’s his face, nothing even close to making out like his life depended on it with some other person right in front of him, but here he was looking at his barely-even-a-friend like he had personally offended him.

     “Sure thing. I’ll talk to you later, Perseus.”

     Percy looked back at him with softened eyes and gave him a small smile. “Okay. I’ll drop by later when you’re at work.”

     He walked away with a wave and a small glare over his shoulder at Billy. When they were alone, he heard the other boy let out a big whoosh of air and his big hand was clapping down on his shoulder. “Well, if that glare contained real venom, I’m sure I would be dead by now. You okay?”

     “I’m fine, thank you, Ben.”

     “Hey, you said my right name!”

     Nico bit down on his lips, but they still turned up a little at the corners. “Well, I was bound to get it right eventually.” They both sat down at their desks and then he was tapping on Nico’s shoulder like that first day.

     “So, I guess that means you like me now, right?”

     “Don’t get your hopes up, Bobby.”

* * *

 

     Nico and Jason were wiping down the tables out front before people started coming in for the dinner rush. You would think that people would have better places to go out and eat on a Friday night than a small campus bistro, but Jason had told him it was just as hopping as every other day. Well, he said busy, and then made fun of Nico for using the word ‘hopping’.

     That was one thing he was thankful for. Jason hadn’t treated him any different since things became strained between Percy and Nico. A lot of the people he considered friends now acted like they were walking on egg shells when he was around, afraid that they were going to say or do something to set him off. It was nice that they were trying to be considerate, but he wasn’t made of glass and he sure as hell wasn’t going to break into tears if they talked to him like they did before that damned party.

     It wasn’t just that Jason had treated him the same, it was because he owed him, and Thalia, for letting him keep his job after he disappeared for a week and didn’t show up for work for almost a week after that. He only usually worked three days a week, but they were so generous to him, giving him all the time he needed and always offering him more, that he had been taking up any extra shifts he could to make up for not being there.

     “Looks like rain.”

     Nico looked up at the sky and frowned. “Yes.”

     "Well, I don’t think anyone is going to be eating out here if it does, so let’s go inside. You wanna be up front or in the back?”

     Nico tucked his washcloth into his waistband and gave a wry smirk at the ground. “You mean do I want to take orders and make sandwiches or clean the back rooms and take inventory?”

     Jason laughed and held the door open for him, letting him duck under his arm and walk into the bistro. There was only a couple people already sitting at the tables and eating, but no one was waiting to be served. He knew that wouldn’t last long. He looked pleadingly over at Jason and gave him the biggest puppy eyes he could.

     Jason sighed and punched him lightly on the arm. “Yeah, I know. I got the front.” Nico nodded and through his washcloth on the counter. He was halfway around the corner when Jason called out to him again. “Want me to send Percy back when he gets here?”

     Nico chewed on his lip and kept staring ahead. He was in a good mood today. As good a mood as he has been in a while, at least. His stomach was settled enough with the water he drank this morning that it wasn’t protesting against him for skipping out on breakfast – and lunch and soon to be dinner, if he had anything to say about it – and his throat stopped being too sore to swallow. The bare minimum number of people had managed to piss him off and none of his classes required anything more than him sitting there with his ears turned on.

     “Sure. I’ll be here.”

     Nico disappeared into the back and went into the small office where Thalia usually is. He would sweep and organize all the shit they just got in later, but for now he just wanted to sit down and relax for a little bit. He knew Jason wouldn’t mind, because Lou was supposed to be coming in to work the front with him tonight, and Thalia came back here to smoke pot and talk on the phone with her girlfriend all the time.

     And it wasn’t like he came back here to take a nap or anything; he just wanted some silence and some space. When Percy shows up sometime after eight, he won’t leave until Nico gets off after nine, and then he will probably walk him home and try to get him to let him stay and hang out for a while after that. He will tell him no, of course, but Grover will be there and his privacy will be nonexistent until the next day.

     He sat down in Thals chair and leaned back on it, the wheels rolling and squeaking a warning. It was quiet. He could barely hear the music they played over the speakers from back here.

     Closing his eyes, he leaned further back in his chair and rested his hands on his stomach. He wasn’t thinking of anything. His mind was completely blank, void of any and all rational thought. He was getting good at this whole meditation thing, pretending that there was nothing around him and blocking out all outside distractions. He could barely sleep last night, but he did end up meditating. That way, there was no way that he could come into his dreams. He already saw him when he was awake, he didn’t need to dream about him too. Although he knew he was just hallucinating when he was awake, or so he tried to tell himself, but it still was more than he wanted to endure. He deserved to be haunted day and night, but he was being selfish and refused to sleep more than he absolutely had to. It was always harder at night.

     His phone let out a shrill shriek and it jerked him out of his headspace. He probably wouldn’t have heard it if he had stayed down any longer, but he was just deep enough for it be jarring.

     He pulled it out of his pocket and let the chair fall back on the floor. Looking at the number, it wasn’t one he recognized, but it did have a California area code, so maybe it was his sister calling from a friend’s phone or something.

     “Hello?”

     “ _Did you miss me?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	22. Friday, October 22nd continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, my slushies! It's just about 3:30am where I am, but I'm finally done and posting this (pathetically) short chapter. Thanks for the awesome response last chapter, I hope this lives up to your expectations ;) 
> 
> Warning for this chapter: mildly homophobic language/actions.

Friday, October 22nd

     “ _Did you miss me?_ ”

     “…Father?”

     Nico shut his eyes and chewed on the inside of his lip. Why was his father calling him? He was on Bianca’s plan and he hadn’t given him his phone number, so how did he get it? But more importantly, why was he calling him? They hadn’t spoken in over a year, even when Nico was still living in L.A. and in the same house, they never communicated. They barely even saw each other with his father being gone all the time, and he was never the kind of father that cared enough to keep in contact with him in other ways.

     His father had made it perfectly clear what he thought of Nico and his lifestyle, and Nico couldn’t be happier with how things have been between them. Maybe he should have wished that his father paid more attention to him and was more invested in his life, but he honestly couldn’t care less about keeping him in his life anymore. When Nico decided to move to New York for school, Bianca was the one who told their father for him. If he had anything to say about it, he sure didn’t say any of it to Nico.

     Hearing his voice was like being stabbed in the chest, deeply and right in his heart. The last time they had spoken to each other was when Bianca had finally convinced Nico to go back to school. She had come by to drive him to school, even though he could just have easily driven himself or taken the bus, but she insisted that he would have tried to find a way to weasel his way out of it if she didn’t escort him personally to the front doors and watched him go in. She was probably right. Before they left, Bianca had shoved a banana into his hand and told him to eat it as she was pulling him out the door. Their father was in the driveway, closing his car door and heading toward the house, but his face twisted in disgust as he saw them and said that it was only right that Nico would start eating again if he had phallic foods.

     It made no sense why he was calling him now. He hadn’t left anything behind when he left L.A. and he knew that Bianca would get a hold of him directly if she needed him, unless something had happened where she was unable to call him. His stomach filled with dread.

     “ _Is that all you have to say to your father? I think I deserve more respect._ ”

     Nico glanced over at the open door and then got up to shut it. He knew Jason would see the closed door and give him space, and he was grateful that it was too early for Percy to show up because he knew that the older boy would probably come barging in anyway.

    He tried to respond, clearing his scratchy throat and taking a deep, tickling breath, but nothing would come out besides a small “um…” and a huff of embarrassingly shaky breath. Talking to his father alone made him nervous enough to break out into a sweat, but a surprise phone call and not knowing why he decided to call was enough for him to start feeling physically ill.

     “ _Although I really shouldn’t expect anything from you, hm? Afterall, you always were useless._ ”

     Nico leaned heavily back against the door and tried to breathe evenly. “Father?” He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to ask why he was calling, for him just to spit it out so that he could hang up the phone and throw up quietly in the corner and pretend none of this happened. Thalia would probably kill him for doing it in her office, but he was sure that she had a soft spot for him somewhere in her punk heart and wouldn’t be too severe about it. She would still make him work the register for a week and bring it up every time they saw each other, but at least he would probably still have his job.

     There was a heavy sigh that reverberated in the speakers of Nico’s phone, full of exasperation and annoyance. “ _Yes, I believe you had already said that. I see that school has done nothing to improve your intelligence, boy._ ”

     He made a choking noise in the back of his throat and resisted the urge to swallow his tongue. Mentally chiding himself, he let a slow breath out through his nose and cleared his throat. “Father. To what do I owe the supreme surprise and pleasure of your phone call?”

     “ _There’s my ungrateful son I was looking for. I would encourage you to watch your silver tongue and remember who you are speaking to. Sometimes you are too much like your mother for your own good, boy._ ”

     He knew that remark was supposed to sting, but he couldn’t help but smile a little at the warmth spreading through his chest at the mention of his mother. Everyone has always thought that he and his might as well have been twins, but the truth is, they both looked like spitting images of their mother. Nico believed that Bianca looked more like their mother because of the gloss in her hair and the lack of the disturbing undertone of a glare residing in his eyes that he got from his father.

     Bianca used to say that even though she was not there with them physically, they would never lose her because all they would have to do to see her would be to look in the mirror while Nico ranted about one of his passions. He had less energy to rant throughout the years and every time he looked in the mirror now, all he saw was a broken toy still trying to work without batteries.

     “Sorry, sir.”

     Bile rose in the back of his throat at that, but it came out easier than it used to. He just wanted this to be over as soon as possible so he could call Bianca and tell her that their father got in contact with him. But that only reminded him that he still didn’t know why he was calling in the first place, and what if Bia is hurt?

     “ _Unconvincing, like always. I thought that you would be interested in knowing that I plan on coming to New York for business. I expect you to have dinner with me and some important clients, and after that, I wish for you to make yourself scarce. Is that clear?”_

     Nico’s jaw clenched tightly, his teeth grinding at the pressure. “Yes, sir. Crystal.”

     There was a slow stretch of silence following Nico’s affirmation, broken only by the rough breath shooting out of Nico’s nostrils and the faint buzz of static over the line from the poor reception that reaches the office. He thought his father should have ended the call by now, but he hadn’t heard the line disconnect.

     “ _I hope you remember your manners for dinner. These are very important people I’ll be dealing with, and while your presence is mandatory, everything else should be left at home. You are expected to be polite and respectful, to speak only when spoken directly to, to be alert but uninterested in the conversation, and to make yourself known as little as possible. While I understand that much of this will go over your stupid little head, I hope that you understand that disobedience will not be tolerated._ ”

     “Yes, sir.”

     “ _Your attire will be delivered to you promptly, and I strongly encourage you not to try my patience and leave that ridiculous jacket of yours at home. I couldn’t care less if you dress like a homeless, street rat of a fairy on your own, but in my presence, you are expected to look like everything that you are not; mainly presentable, poised, decent, and put together._ ”

     “Yes, sir.”

     “ _I will be flying in this Saturday, but you will not be required until the 28th. Dinner is seven and a car will be around to pick you up at six._ ”

     “But, sir, I work that day and –”

     “ _Do not interrupt me. You will be attending dinner whether you have prior obligations or not. I do not wish to see you before then, and if you are needed again, you will be called for. For the duration of my two weeks stay, you are to be ready and fit to be seen until I fly out again._ ”

     “Yes, sir.”

     “ _I’m glad we have an understanding, son. I can’t say I look forward to seeing you again, as I am sure that you feel the same way. Rest assured that this won’t be a frequent occurrence._ ”

     With that, Nico heard the tell-tale click of the line being severed, making his utterance of ‘good riddance’ moot. It wasn’t like he was expected much of a goodbye, especially with the dad of the year hello he received and his not so subliminal skip of the small talk most phone calls usually persisted of, but it still made him want to punch a wall in frustration.

     Nico had honestly planned, and ardently looked forward to, never engaging his father again in any lifetime. There were more people than he can consciously count that are on his list of people that he never wants to see again, lest he kill them with all the conviction of a lioness protecting her cubs and twice the efficiency of Amelia Dyer.

     To say he was surprised that his father was interested in communicating with him again would be an understatement, but knowing the circumstances, it made more sense. Back when he and his sister were young, their father would take them out to business dinners and ‘mingling’ events occasionally.

      He used to have this wild idea that it was because their father wanted to spend more time with them, but Bianca always said it was probably only to make him look good. He’s inclined to believe now that he is older. He was probably meeting with one of the associates that has met them before and voiced his interest in seeing how they have grown, and with him being in New York while Bianca is still in California, the duty has befallen upon him to serve as trophy spawn.

     He could just blow him off. He could pretend that phone call never happened and block the number, refuse to go anywhere with him and ignore his very existence. Or he could go to dinner to impress the stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy looking Nerf herders his father calls business partners only to let the faux reality come crashing to a dazzling end by revealing to said company that he is not a pre-law student who is looking for a steady income so that he may buy the attention of a ‘good’ wife and acquire a house with a white picket fence for his 2.5 children to grow up in, but that he is in face a gay, Romantic Languages major who wants to write historical novels and translate old texts, while hoping to live pay check to pay check only occasionally.

     As appealing as all of that sounded, he knew that he could do neither. He may not be much of a role model, but he is still his father. More than being his father, though, he is a powerful man; a powerful man with too strong a hold over his life for being so absent in it. As much as he would like to pretend that as an adult now, he is responsible for all of his life choices, he knows that a lot of his choices were made possible because of his father.

     He didn’t go to school for months once, but he received no disciplinary action. It was his decision to move across the country and go to school at SOCU, but he knows that the tuition didn’t pay for itself. He knows that he can rely on having a place to live and a job to fall back on in the event that things do not go as he planned. He also knows that a small portion of his father’s wealth has been left to him in his will.

     And if there is one thing that his mother gave him besides her fiery temper and love for cooking, it was her knowledge of how to pick his battles, and this one was a battle better left alone. He didn’t want his money or his favor, but he knew that it would take very little of his father’s effort to make his life as difficult as possible while still maintaining the image of the ‘upstanding father’ he painted himself to be.

     He would play his father’s puppet again with ease; it was a role he was familiarizing himself with again, that of submission and obedience. He would hate to disappoint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amelia Dyer was a serial killer in the nineteenth century around the same time as Jack the Ripper, except instead of prostitutes, she dealed with infants. It's some pretty brutal stuff, but if you have a little bit of an unhealthy obsession with serial killers and historical torture techniques like I do, I encourage you to read up on her. (Except now that I put that in black and white it makes me sound so freaking creepy, shit, I swear it's not that weird).
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	23. Friday, October 22nd continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I just want to say thank you all so much for all the love and support I have got from everyone over the past week. You truly are the best readers in the world, and I'm glad everyone was so understanding. I'm still feeling pretty disgusting, but I'm a lot better than I was, so if there are mistakes please just bear with me.

Friday, October 22nd continued…

     Nico was still sitting in Thalia’s chair, like he had been for the past few hours, when Percy came to the back looking for him. He hadn’t been wanting to send copious amounts of time with him lately, for obvious reasons, but he would welcome the distraction. Truth be told, it was actually really easy to be around Percy. He was such a nice guy and, though he was a little bit dense sometimes, he was also very compassionate and honest. It didn’t matter if he was fucking someone else and only wanted to be friends, maybe he could live with that. He would hate every second of it, but he would take it.

     The door creaked open and then there was Percy, wearing an uncertain smile and a god awful sweater with a cat on it. He left the door cracked behind him and came to stand by the side of the desk like he was unsure if he should approach him or stay on the opposite side of the wooden barrier between them.

     He looked at the hesitant older boy in front of him and let out a little sigh, smiling at him more warmly than he had in days. “Hey, Perce. Is it after eight already? I should be getting off soon. Thalia usually doesn’t leave until real late, but her shift technically ends at nine. Want to get something to eat? I need some fresh air after working so damn hard today. I really worked up an appetite tonight; I might even eat a whole cow!”

     Nico stood and stretched his arms over his head, sighing dramatically and rubbing the back of his hand against his eyes. “Maybe I can get Jason to let me off early tonight, hm? Think you could use your ridiculous puppy eyes for good for once? I could really go for some pastrami and I think that café down by my dorm closes at nine. I could settle for coffee and a spinach wrap from Starbucks, since there’s one around every corner apparently in New York as well as L.A. They stay open late, don’t they?”

     He was opening the door and walking to the front of the store now, not bothering to look behind him to see if Percy was following him, just trusting that he was; from the sound of footsteps shuffling against concrete behind him, he guessed that he was right in his assumption. It was kind of nice having the green-eyed boy scampering after him and sucking up, and he would eat up the attention any other time, but under the circumstances he couldn’t allow himself to enjoy it, not while knowing the reason that was behind it.

     “Actually, forget about the café and let’s just go to Starbucks. Now that I think about it, spinach and cheese sounds delicious. And plus I can try that drink that you were telling me I just had to try, what was it ca—”

     “Nico!”

     There was a hand grabbing his elbow and tugging him around right before he reached the door. Percy was staring at him with his lips in a hard line and eyebrows furrowed, red faced but looking at him with a sort of restrained affection that belied the rigidness of his features. When he spoke, his tone was gentle and soothing. He allowed himself to be pulled in slightly when his arm was tugged, stopping just before he collided with his chest. “Nico, I’m pretty sure this is the most you have spoken to me in weeks, and contrary to popular belief, I am not, in fact, actually stupid. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

     Percy put a hand on Nico’s chest and patted it slightly, and it was only then that he noticed that his chest was heaving. He remembered when he first saw Percy, running backwards away from him with Annabeth on his arm, uncertain and smiling like the sun itself was born within him. Nico saw him and he thought wow, he was the most gorgeous creature he had ever set his eyes on.

     Then he got to know him, and he realized that not only was he the most perfect looking human being in existence, but that he was also just as perfect inside as he was on the outside. He knew that he was a player, almost everyone he met here had told him at least once, but he had never seen anything that would have shown him that if they hadn’t have told him. He knew everyone, actually knew them, and knew them enough to know their favorite color and know their mother’s maiden name.

     He felt like he had known him his whole life, felt like they had been together for their whole lives, but in reality, it had only been just over a month. In just over a month he had fallen in love with this unattainable boy and had his heart broken just as fast.

     But when he looked at him now, that same concern showing in his eyes as the first time, smile gone but still looking just as gorgeous, it was hard not to fall in love all over again. He didn’t deserve love, and he didn’t know if he even had it in him to love another again, but he wanted to. He wanted to love him with a love that was both impossible and inspiring, just as he wanted to be loved in return. He knew it was selfish, but how could he not be? Humans were weak, and he was the weakest one he knew. Even now, he could see him in his head, Alex, snarling at him that he deserved less than dirt.

     Alex wasn’t here, though, and he had to keep reminding himself that. Maybe what he had been told was true and he would live his life alone and miserable, unloved and hurting. Until everyone else realized that he wasn’t worth their time, he would take what he could and pretend to be human just a little longer.

     But that doesn’t mean he can forget how he got his hopes up just to have them smashed right in front of his face. He wanted to trust Percy, but it was so hard. Besides, what did he care anyway?

     “Why do you care, anyway?”

     Percy’s face hardened, lips pressed thin and the grip on his shoulder tightening. “No. You don’t get to do that. We’re friends aren’t we? I care about my friends, Nico. I know that something is wrong and it’s okay for you to let me be there for you. You can trust me.”

     “Oh, I can trust you?” Nico jerked his body away and sneered at him. “Just like how I could trust you to come onto me and not go off the next second and swap spit with some other guy in front of me? That kind of trust, Percy?”

     He growled frustrated and tugged at his hair. Why was everything so dame confusing? He had no idea what was going on anymore, not with himself and especially not with Percy. He could feel tears threatening to wet his eyes and he knew without a doubt that he was goddamn sick of it.

     Clenching his teeth, he steeled himself and looked up at Percy with determination, ready to give him a real piece of his mind, but he froze. Percy’s face was completely closed off and staring somewhere over his shoulder, and he could see a small tick in the corner of his jaw staring to twitch. Nico swallowed thickly and glanced tentively behind him, but there was no one there.

     Glancing back toward the still man in front of him – and he was every ounce a man right then, not a single drop of the carefree boy he usually acted like present – he found that he was already looking back at him. It was almost intimidating looking him directly in the eyes, but he also couldn’t look away. He didn’t look angry, but he did look tired. “Go back to Thalia’s office. I’m done dancing around and it’s time we talked.”

     He wanted to fight him on it, kick and scream until Percy let him leave, but he couldn’t. Just seeing him look so serious and in charge made his whole body relax unwillingly, the voices in his mind calming and leaving him only with the simple demand that Percy had given him. He nodded with wide, glazed eyes and walked past him back to the office.

     Percy didn’t follow him immediately. He didn’t know how long he would be gone or what he was supposed to do in the mean time, so he just stood there awkwardly by the door and waited for him, enjoying the stillness in his mind.

     It turns out he wasn’t planning on staying away for long afterall, because less than a minute later he came in, closing the door behind him and locking it. When their eyes met, Percy’s eyes had cooled off some, no longer smoldering, just down to a not so pleasant glow. “We need to talk.”

     Nico’s eyes dropped down to the other boy’s mouth, unable to meet his eyes for a conversation he was sure would be no fun for either of them. “You said that already.”

     “Look, I miss you, okay? Don’t be mad, but I talked to your sister, and she, and everyone else, told me to give you some space. That’s what I’ve been doing, and I don’t know if you’re mad that I haven’t been around that much lately, but –”

     “Stop right there. You think I’m mad because you’ve been stupidly trying to glue yourself to my side but avoiding me at the same time? Do you even know why I’m fucking upset in the first place? Goddammit, Percy, who the fuck do you think you’re fooling?”

     He sighed heavily and stomped away from him. He surely wasn’t so dense that he didn’t even understand what he did wrong. He walked around Thalia’s desk and flopped into the chair. He glared at the other boy when he walked over to him, but Percy just sat down on the corner of the desk and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

     “No, I know that isn’t what this is about. It’s about Luke, right?”

     “I don’t know, is that your boyfriend’s name?”

     Percy huffed at him and crossed his arms, leaning back to raise a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Luke isn’t my boyfriend. We did used to date, but we haven’t been like that in years. He has a boyfriend, Octavian, and they love each other very much. But sometimes, Luke gets clingy and when Octavian doesn’t give him what he wants, he tries to make him jealous to get him to give in. He knows that our past…thing bothers him, so I kind of just became Luke’s go-to fake fling to make his boyfriend pay attention to him again.”

     Nico stared at him with his mouth wide open, but he quickly snapped it shut and gave out a short, barking laugh. “Okay, sure, how convenient. What kind of bullshit is that?”

     “The true kind! Ask anyone; it has been going on forever now. Even Octavian knows what Luke’s really doing, but it’s just this game they play with each other. I promise, Nico. There isn’t anyone I want right now except for you.”

     He stared at him with hard eyes for several seconds trying to see if he was giving any signs of lying, but he seemed sincere. Maybe he was gullible, but he wanted to believe him. Then his brain caught up with what Percy had said and his lips twitched without his consent. “Did you say you wanted me?”

     Percy gave him a disbelieving smile and reached out to brush the hair that had fallen across his forehead out of his eyes. “Come on, you have to know that by now. Of course I do, you deserve everything good in the world and so much more than what I can give you, but I still want to try.”

     There was a niggling thought at the back of his head, scratching at the walls and whispering to him how it was all lies, every last word that was coming out of his mouth were endless lies. He didn’t know who to believe, but the bad had always been easier to accept. He stretched his lips into a smile that he hoped looked genuine and jokingly scoffed at him. “If I deserve everything good in the world, then I guess I wouldn’t deserve you.”

     Surprise and delight flooded his eyes, making the waves in his green oceans look like they were dancing. He slapped a hand over his heart dramatically and slumped forward. “Ouch! Right in the feels there, Nico.”

     They shared a small life and secretive smiles, and Nico could only hope that he was trying hard enough to look like he believed that he was okay. “That was a real dick mood not telling me all this before, you know?”

     “I know, and I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking when it happened and then you went AWOL, and when you came back your sister told me to stay away from you or she’d bake a dessert out of my jewels! I should have tried harder and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

     Nico closed his eyes and leaned back away from the hand that was now trying to pet the back of his head. “Well, I suppose it must be hard to function with kelp for brains.”

     They sat there in silence for a long moment, Percy smiling softly at him and Nico staring with half-lidded eyes at the grain patterns in the desk. Percy’s hand came down gently on his knee. “So, are we…cool?”

     He spared him a brief glance out from under his eyelashes. “Maybe not now, but I hope we can be.”

     “That’s all I need to hear. I’ll do whatever you want me to, Nico, whatever I have to do to show you that I’m serious, and I’m serious about you.”

     Nico slowly lowered his hand to cover Percy’s over his knee, squeezing gently and nodding at him. “Okay.”

     “Okay.”

    Nico rolled his eyes and released his hand to stand and stretch. His lips didn’t seem to catch the memo that he was still upset with him, because they were still twitching like crazy. Before he reached the door to unlock it, Percy called out to him.

     “Nico? I’m glad we got some of that cleared away, and I know that there’s still a lot we need to talk about, but what happened? Why were you so much more upset when I got here?”

     He thought they were done with the serious talk for the night, because he was feeling sick to his stomach and he knew he was going to throw up every meal he hadn’t had that day as soon as he got back home; but apparently he was wrong. He turned back around and sighed. “My…father called. He’s going to be visiting soon.”

     Percy looked curious, but the expression was forced, like he wanted to say something. “Your dad? I don’t think you ever said anything about him before.”

     Nico looked at him suspiciously but nodded all the same. “I don’t even try to think about him if I don’t have to. We don’t have the best relationship, you could say. I’m not really looking forward to his visit.”

     Percy came around the desk and cupped the side of his neck tenderly. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to bear through it together then, huh?”

     The voices were getting louder again, grating on his nerves and making him dizzy, getting louder and louder in its chant that he was worthless, that Percy was going to leave him, that he was being selfish and he was going to get what’s coming to him. They were getting so loud that he could almost hear white noise snapping in his ears.

     He smiled tightly. “Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be updating sometime by the end of the week with the next update day.
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!   
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	24. Monday, October 27th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's about 3:00am on the 21st where I am, but since I have yet to go to sleep, I'm still counting it as the 20th! A lot has happened in this last week that I'll talk about in my next author's note, so be on the look out for that. Other than that, just know that I worte this very last minute, so if there are any mistakes, please bear with me! You guys are awesome and I love you for being so supportive, so go team! Enjoy the short but new chappie.

Monday, October 27th 

     “Did you do the reading for tomorrow’s lesson on the Aegis?” 

     Nico blinked sleepily and raised his head from the desk, his neck tweaking uncomfortably at the angle he stretched into to see Percy reclining back on his bed. Stifling a yawn, he rubbed his eyes until dots appeared behind his eyelids and colors filled his blinded vision. 

     Ever since last week when his father decided to show up in his life again, Percy had been more persistent than ever about making time for him. The green eyed young man made it a point to see him during all of his breaks, going as far as walking him to class and to work, and diligently showing up after he was done with class or work to walk him back to his room and hang out until he absolutely had to leave. 

     The surprising thing was that he hadn’t tried to make a single move for him in all of the times that the perfect opportunity arose. He was grateful that Percy was respecting his wishes and personal space, but at the same time he kind of missed the flirty, spontaneous, and dirty humored Percy that he was before shit hit the fan. 

     Even though Percy was being a perfect gentleman and refraining from acting inappropriately towards him, he was more affectionate than he had ever been before. Percy was almost always touching him or was within touching distance; innocent brushes of their shoulders, a brief hand on his lower back, quick fingers brushing away stray strands of hair from his eyes. He felt like every day that he spent with Percy, the more he was getting to know the older man and the more he fell for him.

     It was driving him insane. 

     One side of him wanted nothing more that to grab the back of Percy’s head and crush his lips to his own, to wrap his hands around his waist and let his warmth seep down all the way to his bones, to let him call him baby and sweetheart and doll. He wanted Percy to want him so bad that he can’t help but to reach down while they are walking side-by-side and intertwine their fingers, to tug on his waist and lay his arm across his shoulder while they cuddle disgustingly and stuff their face with popcorn. He wants to be wanted, and he wants Percy to want him deeply. 

     The other part of himself was currently cowered in a corner, hissing at the light seeping through every time Percy smiled so adoringly at him, reminding him of every bad thing that had ever happened to him and manifesting every fear of the unknown that was able to crawl forth from the blackened miasma of his subconscious. He didn’t want to make another mistake by letting himself love Percy. 

     The only problem with that was that he was already too late. 

     He could feel his reserves slipping away as if they were the last layer of dust covering the forgotten bones of a ruined city, brushed off and left gaping and exposed in a terrifying way. He felt bared to the world and to himself, and he didn’t know how to hold onto his reserve. He was too selfish to keep this up, and he knew that from the beginning but he couldn’t admit to it. Admitting defeat wasn’t an option, but it seemed like that was the only option left. 

     He looked back and smiled at the concerned look on Percy’s face. Stretching and letting his yawn break across his face, he rolled away from the desk and walked to his bed, currently occupied by a heap of pouting Percy.

     “No, I didn’t need to. I already know of its history.” 

     Percy was leaned up against the wall with his legs extending across the bed and his feet dangling off the end, one of their Greek myth books tucked against his chest. Nico collapsed next to other boy on the bed, falling to let his head land in the other’s lap and slinging an arm over his knees. He felt the muscles underneath his tense before they relaxed again. Soon enough there was a gentle hand brushing through his hair and stroking behind his ears.

     “Mm”, Nico hummed, “that feels nice.”

     The legs underneath him shook and a small smile stole across his face. Maybe he could be a little selfish for just a little bit longer. There was a shadow threatening to intrude into his mindset, lingering on the edge of his conscious being and lurking in the darkest recesses of his subconscious. 

     Sometimes, he still saw Alex. He would never tell anyone this, but sometimes he even felt himself missing him. The closer he got to Percy, which was closer every day, the less he thought about Alex. He had a minor setback, but he couldn’t have expected something like that not to happen. If he wanted to be happy, whether he deserved it or not, that was his decision to make. And he wanted to be happy, he really did. 

     “So. Your father flew in yesterday, right?” 

     And there goes his good mood. 

     Nico’s nose crinkled in distaste and he went to pull himself up into a sitting position. When he tried to shift off of Percy’s legs, the hand that was petting his hair moved to press down firmly onto his shoulder blade, keeping him in place. He could have pushed up anyway, he knew Percy would let him, but his legs really were unusually comfortable. 

     He fell back down and shuffled as close to Percy as he could, curling himself into a protective ball and hiding his face in Percy’s knees. He didn’t want to think about his father, or anything to do with fancy monkey suits and impressing people who didn’t give two shits about him. But he knew that Percy wanted to help him. 

     “Yes.” It came out barely above a whisper but Percy still heard it, humming and moving his hand back to stroke lazily through his locks. 

     “Have you heard from him?”

     Nico scoffed and rubbed his face piteously into the fabric of Percy’s jeans. “No. I have to have dinner with him and a bunch of stuck up snobs he has the pleasure of manipulating on Wednesday, though.” 

     He could think of a million things he would rather do than go to an overpriced restaurant to eat food that costs more than his college tuition and made by a chef that couldn’t care less about quality or care, schmoozing up the one percent with the fake ideal of a perfect family that not even distance could tear apart, wearing a suit that will cook him alive and make it even more obvious how young he really is. 

     It was different when he was younger; Bianca would order macaroni no matter where they went, they would bring coloring books and play footsie under the table, pretending that they were undercover and entertaining the boring adults was part of their mission to save the world from alien invaders or undead Roman legions or an evil witch that cast an insanity spell over the whole world. 

     The older he became, the less often his father would demand his presence on business adventures, much less during any other time. It was almost a blessing that his father completely hated the very idea of the person Nico was, because eat least that way he didn’t have to pretend to be something he was not. 

     These must be very important clients or colleagues if he was flying to New York, a state that he hated above all others, and was demanding Nico’s attendance. He could only hope that dinner was all that was to be expected of him.

     “You don’t think it will be good?”

     “My father hates me, and the feeling is very much mutual. I might have loved him once, just as he might have once felt something more than disdain for the simple act of me converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, but there is no doubt anymore where we stand with each other. He is a deplorable man and I hate the very notion of sharing the same space with him again.” 

     He twisted to the side and peered up at Percy with a frown. He was looking back at him with bright eyes, face lined with worry and eyebrows pinched adorably. Slowly, as if sudden movements would scare him off, Percy raised the hand that wasn’t resting on the back of his head and brought it to touch his thumb to the corner of Nico’s mouth, brushing it back and forth across his now flushing cheek.

     “If you don’t want to go, why are you? Why not just stay here with me and watch Netflix and cuddle and worry about finishing that paper that’s due next Friday that I know you haven’t started.”

     Nico laughed breathily and rolled his eyes at him. “I have plenty of time to finish that paper, thank you very much. Not everyone creates insanely detailed outlines and timelines and finishes every assignment two weeks in advance, Mr. Know-it-All.” 

     The smile he got in response left him feeling dizzy, but soon it fell away and was replaced with that ever persistent frown dipping down the corners of his mouth. “Seriously, why are you doing this?” 

     Nico leaned into the hand still rubbing his cheek and sighed deeply. “My father is a very powerful man, Percy. He has connections and friends in high places, and that makes him a very dangerous man as well. I don’t want or need his interference in my life, but he still has the ability to screw everything up for me. He’s the reason I’m even here, and I can’t forget that he basically holds the string that keeps me alive.” 

     Percy’s frown seemed to be carved into his face like stone, so deep and unnerving that Nico didn’t know what he could do to make it evolve back into his beautiful timeless smile without breaking a few teeth in the process. “It doesn’t have to be like that, Nico.” 

     He smiled sadly at him. “I know, Perce. But that’s the way it is for a while. The only thing I can do now is to try to do what he says but play by my own rules. Stick it to him, you know?”

     He rested his head back down on Percy’s legs, his hand coming up to rest under his cheek. They were quiet for a while, laying there listening to the distant sound of honking cars and people shuffling in the room above them. 

     Nico had just closed his eyes and was starting to fall away into sleep when Percy tugged gently on one of his curls. “What if I come with you?” 

     He opened his eyes drowsily and stared at the stitches of fabric weaved into Percy’s shirt, blinking back into consciousness and trying to understand what he had just said. “What do you mean if you come? Come where?” 

     “To dinner. With you, on Wednesday." 

     He sat up abruptly, flinging Percy’s hand away accidently and almost banging his knee on the wall. “You want to come with me to dinner with my father and his sleazy colleagues? Why?” 

     Percy reached out and grabbed his wrist, his thumb moving back and forth over the thin skin of his inner wrist in the same way he brushes his fingertips over his lips when he thinks Nico is sleeping. “Yes, that dinner. I know that this is something you’re not cool with, and I want to be there for you, you know? You want to stick it to the man? Show up with me, now that’ll cause quite the scene.”

     Nico stared at him in shock, a feeling which slowly turned to amusement, then to concern. He finally let a wide smile grow on his face until it stretched from ear to ear, teeth bared and gums peeking out at their tops. “That would certainly be a kick to the balls to my dear oh father.”

     A full laugh bellowed out of Percy’s throat, a force that whipped his head back to expose his long throat and make his chest heave with the movement of it, and Nico found himself laughing along with him. He calmed down enough to reach a confident hand out to Nico and pulled him back to his side. “I think it will, yeah. I just want to make sure you’ll be okay, babe, and that you know you can come to me for anything.” 

     Nico recoiled slightly at the pet name, not sure if he was ready to let Percy know that he had fallen completely and utterly for the idiot, but he stayed and place and smiled at him sweetly. “You know, for a guy with a bunch of tattoos and outfits that all revolve around skinny jeans and beanies, you’re really sweet.” 

     Percy gasped dramatically and flung a hand over his heart. “Nico! Just for that, I’m going to have to romance to fuck out of you from now on.” 

     He raised a playful eyebrow and smirked challengingly at him. “Is that right, Jackson?” 

     As he was pulled into strong arms and held tightly to a firm chest, gasping out cries as he tried to avoid merciless fingers probing his sides, it was the first time in a long time that he didn’t feel like he was suffocating under the pressure exploding under his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	25. Tuesday, October 28th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Slushies! I hope everyone has been well :) like always, thank you to everyone who has been leaving kudos and bookmarking and subscribing to this fic! And thank you all who have commented as well, it truly warms my heart and makes my day getting to talk to you guys!
> 
> I will be announcing the future of this fic, as well as discussing some other things in the next author's note, so watch out for that! 
> 
> As for now, enjoy the chapter! <3

Tuesday, October 28th 

     Nico was sitting ramrod straight in his desk chair, kicked all the way back to reach Grover’s bed, when Percy gave the door a warning knock before he came in and closed the door behind him. Nico’s hands were clutching so hard at the arms of the chair that his knuckles were turning white. His feet were planted firmly on the floor, flat and digging into the soles of his combat boots with his heels. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there. 

     He had just finished with his math class when he checked his phone and found a text from Percy saying that he wouldn’t be there to pick him up because he had to work his full shift at the zoo. He was honestly a little glad for the break, because he was starting to get a little concerned with how dependent he was becoming so fast again. So instead of sending Percy a pouty text complaining about how ungentlemanly it was to cancel on a date like he wanted to, he shoved his phone deep in his back pocket, picked up a frozen yogurt from one of the food trucks by the union, and looked forward to getting back to his dorm so he could find a good book to read and take a much needed nap before the green eyed puppy he adored would, without fail, show up at his door after he was back from work, asking for cuddles and food. 

     What he found instead was a black, manicured, glossy looking box with a purple ribbon encircling it and a crisp off-white envelope on his bed. Obviously not a part of the sleek exhibit was a sheet of torn notebook paper lying beside it, Grover’s messy scrawl telling him that the package was delivered to him directly to the door by some guy in a fancy penguin suit. 

     He knew exactly what it was. He didn’t touch it, didn’t even read the card that was attached to it. There was no point. There was nothing more he wanted to do than set the whole thing on fire and chuck it out the nearest window, but he didn’t have a lighter on him and the windows in the room didn’t actually open. It was a cruel dilemma. 

     He took his desk chair, pulled it as far to the other side of the room as he could, and then sat down in it with a stiff back and a scowl on his lips, staring at the side of the box and hoping beyond all hope that he could suddenly make things disappear through the shadows so that he wouldn’t have to glare at it anymore. 

     Apparently he had been sitting there in his melancholy trance for a lot longer than he thought, because one moment he was seizing up in terror sitting with tensed muscles watching Alex sit by the damned black box, caressing its shining sides, and smiling at him pitilessly, and the next thing he knew, Percy was sauntering in the room with his unassuming smile and too bright eyes.

     “Hey, Neeks! So I brought ice cream, pistachio of course, and the Avengers on Blu-ray. I also got the second Hobbit movie you said you hadn’t seen yet, and the Notebook, because it’s a classic and we’re watching it, so don’t give me any lip about it. What do you—Nico?” 

     He was standing off to the side, holding all of the items he listed in his hands, and tilting his head at him curiously. Nico didn’t turn to look at him, but he could see him fidgeting out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t say anything. What could he say, what was he supposed to say? My suit arrived and it just struck me that this is becoming very real and I have to see my father tomorrow and I am freaking the fuck out because I don’t know what could possibly happen, but none if it could possibly be good? He couldn’t say that, couldn’t get the words to spit themselves out, so he said nothing instead. 

     Percy blinked at him silently for a while before following his gaze to the bed and spotting the box. Slowly, like he was unsure if Nico would spring into frightened action at any moment, he stepped lightly to Nico’s desk and put down the goods. He glanced back at him before approaching the bed and lifting the card with gently fingertips. 

     Nico trained his gaze on the other boy’s face, swallowing convulsively when their eyes met. He must have picked up on Nico’s silent cues, because when he next spoke, it was barely above a whisper, carrying smoothly across the still air to Nico’s pale ears. 

     “Do you want to talk about it?” 

     He shook his head quickly, fast and minute in its motion, but once he started he found that he couldn’t make himself stop. He whipped his hair across his face, his neck twinging uncomfortably, in jerking motions before Percy’s face crumbled and he strode to the other side of the room. Nico felt warm hands cup his cheeks, gently forcing his head to hold still. 

     He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt Percy’s thumbs swipe under his eyes, wiping away their tracks. Leaning down over him, Percy left a series of small, butterfly kisses on his hairline. His limbs felt numb, but he managed to raise them enough to grab onto his wrists, holding him close and finally letting out a large sob that he hadn’t realized he needed to release that wrecked his chest. 

     He was pulled and up out of the chair by strong arms and cradled against a hard chest. Percy dragged him to Grover’s bed instead of trying to take the inconsolable boy near the object of his affliction. He sat up with his back to wall and tugged the younger boy onto his lap until he was completely cradled by his warmth. 

     Percy let the Nico cry for as long as he needed to, stroking tender swipes up and down his back and sides, shushing him and running his fingers through his hair. By the time his tears had run dry an only rattling shutters were thumping through his ribcage, it was dark outside. 

     Nico didn’t know how long he had been crying for, and isn’t that embarrassing? Everything was happening too fast and he was losing time. He’s been blacking out a lot lately, losing hours in the day that he can’t remember. He hadn’t told anyone. What was the point? Nico was putting enough of a burden on all of his newly acquired friends as it was, and Hazel would fret over him. Bianca would completely spaz out and demand that he come home, or that she’s coming to New York, and he couldn’t worry her like that.

     It didn’t seem like that big of a deal to him. It was only for a few hours every couple of days, and although he couldn’t remember where he had been or what he had gotten up to in those hours, nothing appeared to have gone wrong. No one had come up and asked him to explain himself and he never got the impression that he was putting himself during those times. He was bruise free and he didn’t ache more than usual. Surely that meant it wasn’t worth bringing up and bothering everyone with it.

     He had bigger things to worry about, anyway; like going to dinner with his father and a bunch of stuck-up snobs that he just knew would be judging him from the moment they saw his messy hair and pale face. 

     He extracted himself from Percy’s lap to scoot next to him. That didn’t mean he pulled completely away; in the contrary, he was pressed as far as he could into Percy’s side without actually being back on his lap, knees gathered near his chin but his feet tucked under the other boy’s thighs. He doubted that he could sever the contact between them now even if he gave it his all, which he most certainly was not.

     He was still hurt about what had happened between them, and even though they had talked it through and he understood it better, he still didn’t know if he could totally trust himself. What if Percy was really still into Luke, or sleeping around in general, and he was just placating Nico so that he could get more out of him before he discarded him like an old pair of socks? After all, what did Nico have to offer him? He was nothing. His face was the furthest thing from what was considered beautiful. He weighed a ton and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to lose any of it. He was weak and whiny and a disgusting human being with horrible taste, and he should probably just…stop it all. He should probably just—

     “Neeks? Hey there, doll, you with me?”

     Nico rubbed at his eyes tiredly and nestled his head into the crook of Percy’s neck. He let out a long sigh when he felt a large hand grab at the back of his neck and keep him there. His mind was in chaos and he didn’t know what to think, but he knew that this right here, being close with Percy and breathing the same air as him, it felt right. So he would continue to let himself be selfish for a bit longer, just long enough to see which part of himself would win. It was hard to care about keeping up with the battle anymore, and at this point he didn’t mind who won just as long as the fighting would stop. At least then maybe he would be able to conjure up a clear idea of what he was supposed to do.

     “Yeah, Perce. I’m with you.”

     Fingers clasped his chin and turned his head to face Percy. Nico melted a little at the concerned and timid smile gracing his face. His forehead was creased and his eyes might have been a little wet as well, but he had never looked more beautiful than he did right then.

     He tried to offer a smile in return but Percy saw right through his attempt and shook his head at him sharply. “Don’t do that. You know you can talk to me about anything. You know that I want you to.”

     Nico’s eyes fell back down to his laced hands, tracing the cracks and counting the freckles that fell across his knuckles. He didn’t know what to say, and in all honesty, he didn’t feel much like talking right then. He was so tired and the more he thought about the next day, the lower his eyelids fell and the heavier his heart got.

     “Or…we can run to get a veggie pizza with extra cheese and then come back here and gorge ourselves on it while binge watching the movies I brought, and then moving onto Netflix and ice cream? We will have all the cuddles and stay up so incredibly late doing absolutely nothing that by the end of the night, we won’t even remember our own names.”

     Nico’s eyes crinkled at him and his lips thinned, but it was no use; small, unbidden giggles fell between his lips. Percy leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of his head and laughed with him.

     “You are such a fucking sap.”

     “Only for you, doll.”

     Nico snuggled up next to him for a few moments before pushing himself off the bed and marching determined to the other side of the room. Without looking, he picked up the box and sat it down on the floor, shoving it under his bed with his foot. “Out of sight, out of mind, right?”

     Percy hummed and got up to join him, observing how Nico was tying the laces on his boots tighter despite how tight they already were. When Percy didn’t immediately answer with a witty, and probably sexual joke, Nico knew that he was trying to think of what he wanted to say. He could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears in a steady stream as he tried to get the wheels in his brain turning to articulate what he was trying to say.

     After his shoes were sufficiently tight and he had thrown his old jacket over his clothes, he paused in front of Percy, waiting to see what the boy would do. He stopped squarely in front of him, feet planted with his toes touching the pristine vans facing toward him.

     Percy craned his neck to catch his eyes and dammit, what was he supposed to do with him looking at him like that? No one should look so worried, so concerned, so goddamn heartbroken because of him. It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make any damn sense, because what makes him worth it? There is nothing about him that should be worth looking so devastated for.

     “Perce?”

     At hearing his name, he blinked slowly and a tear fell out the side of his eye. Nico’s breath caught in his throat and he vaulted forward. His hands were hovering over him, ghosting over his face and shoulders, not quite touching him but close enough. Percy smiled at him weakly and leaned forward until his forehead was resting comfortably on Nico’s lower stomach, his hands caging his hips and head rolling lazily.

     Nico placed his hands, shaking and clammy, timidly on the back of Percy’s head. He didn’t know what to do, but he did know that there was currently an almost weeping Percy trying to curl up in his lap even though he was standing and clawing like a kitten at the hem of his shirt. So instead of doing anything that someone is probably supposed to do in these situations, he just returned the favor Percy gave him earlier and ran his fingers through his hair, petting behind his ears and scratching at the base of his neck.

     This is something his mother used to do for him when he couldn’t sleep at night because of nightmares. She would slip into his small bed and curl around him, petting his hair and singing to him softly, a different song each night. He wanted to sing to Percy right now, but his throat was constricting painfully still.

     There was a small sound coming from beneath him, but he couldn’t make it out. He tugged lightly at the strands of Percy’s hair. “What was that, Perce?”

     He didn’t move his head, but his hands tightened slightly on his hips. “I said, you know that right? That you can talk to me? If you don’t want to, that’s cool, but if you need to talk to someone, I hope you know that I’m here.”

     Nico smiled down at the back of his head and pulled on his hair again, laughing and trying to make sure his heart stays where it belongs. How could someone who looks like every mother’s worst nightmare be so selflessly sweet? Whatever his secret was, he hoped that he kept it to himself and never change.

     “Percy. What am I going to do with you? Of course I know that, silly. Now are we going to go get that Pizza or not? Because you promised a long night of laziness and Pizza is definitely the first thing in order…”

     He whipped up so fast that Nico almost swore he heard his neck crack, but he was hopping up and down and it was hard to be too concerned. He grabbed Nico’s hands and pulled him toward to door, smacking a wet kiss on his cheek and pulling him to a hug. The breath was squeezed out of his lungs, but it was hard to care when he put him down so gently and then not so subtly checked him over to make sure he was okay.

     "Come on, Neeks!"

     He might not have completely forgotten about that box currently absorbing shadows under his bed, but right then, it was easy to push it to the back of his mind and focus on the bundle of energy that was dragging him out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the Avengers, the Hobbit, or the Notebook, and their presence in the fic is purely a tip of the hat. Not going to lie though, how sick would that be? If there is anything else mentioned in the chapter, or the entire story, that I have forgot to mention, let it be assumed that I don't own that either. *heavy sigh*
> 
>  
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	26. Wednesday, October 29th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. I would like to apologize profusely for not being able to update until now. There were quite a few things, and one big thing, that happened to me and it made me unable to write, let alone update. I really don't feel like talking about it and I am so sorry that I can't give you any other explanation other than that. What I do want you to know is that I am sorry it has been so long since the last update. I am still recovering from what happened, as I probably will be for a while yet. I am still participating in my internship this summer, so that means this particular story is coming to a close for the time being until hopefully the Fall. You guys are amazing and I love you all so much. I never got one negative comment about my absence, and although I am sure some of you were thinking it, I am glad no one came and voiced their frustrations to me in a hostile way, because that would have messed up my mindset even more than it already currently is. I am striving for positivity and encouragement in my life right now so that I may continue to have a good attitude and I guess 'heal would be the word, but I much prefer thinking about it as if I am trying to channel my inner strength and find my motivation again. For now, I will leave it at that, but if you feel like my claims are unjustified or if you wish for further clarification, I will try my hardest to answer and do right by you. 
> 
> This was going to be the last chapter, but I was unable to finish all of what I wanted to write tonight, so I figured you would appreciate an update, even if it isn't what I had planned. 
> 
> For now, enjoy. Please excuse any spelling, punctuation, or grammar fallacies. I was in a rush to get this out and struggling to get in the right head space.

Wednesday, October 29th

 

He didn’t know how he ended up here, standing in front of the mirror in the second floor bathroom, pulling at his gaunt cheeks and wondering how he was supposed to cover the dark bruises under his eyes. Luckily no one seemed to be around for the time being. It was a Wednesday afternoon and Midterms were coming up, but it still surprised Nico that nobody had come in for the whole twenty minutes that he had been wasting staring at the freckles standing in stark relief against his nose.

 

He didn’t know what time it was anymore but it had been just after five when he had come in here, dragging his feet and bust etching permanent frown lines around his mouth. There was no telling how much time had passed since then, but he figured it was no small amount. Would it be too much to ask to ‘accidentally’ fall asleep in one of the stalls and miss his father’s lackey coming to pick him up?

 

It didn’t matter, and he knew it. They would find him, just like they always had. It would be easier to just throw on his suit, meet his babysitter downstairs and follow him like a good boy to whatever restaurant his father was using to brainwash his acquaintances this time. He would sit with his back straight, with a smile on his face, nod when his attention was required and comment on how the food was exquisite. His father would pretend that his number one priority was his son, and of course his lovely daughter who unfortunately couldn’t make it as she was occupied back in California. Nico would grin and boast about all the wonderful fake memories him and his father share and the unassuming people across from him would believe their bold faced lies and wish that their family was half as functional as the Di Angelo family.

 

It was a perfectly planned out script that he had been through countless times, but that didn’t mean that it ever got any easier. When he had left for New York, he did so with the intention of severing all of his ties, except for his sister, and never even having to think about his father’s name again. Perhaps that was an unreasonable goal considering how much influence his father had over his life, but dreams were meant to be uninhibited.

 

He didn’t remember the last time he ate but he did chug about a gallon of water an hour ago, not that it stayed in his system for long. All he knew was that he looked like he rose from the dead and there was no way his father would let him show his face in front of the people he was trying to impress while he was looking like a total schmuck. Actually, that might not be such a bad plan…

 

It honestly was probably no use, but just because it was pointless to think about didn’t mean that he couldn’t waste as much time as he possibly could in here. Maybe he’ll flush all the toilets repeatedly until someone took notice and came to beat the shit out of him. Or maybe he’d unroll all of the toilet paper and see how much it would take to wrap around his entire body and suffocate himself. Maybe he’d close the door and plug all the sinks and fill them to the brim until they were overflowing and drowned him. Or he could go for the more traditional route and jump out of a window or something, but then he would have to leave the bathroom and he didn’t feel like being caught so early on in the game.

 

But…he didn’t actually want to go. Sure, there were some days where he just wanted to yank all of his hair out and scratch at his arms until they were discolored and dripping, but there were also days where he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried. There were people who would miss him, who  _he_  would miss if he was gone.

 

Bianca would be so pissed if he left her that he was pretty sure she would yank him back into life by his ear to yell obscenities at him. He’d Hazel, especially since they were closer than ever now that he got to spend more time with her. And he would miss his new friends, too. He’d miss Grover waking him up in the middle of the night from his snoring. He’d miss Jason pranking him at work and Thalia giving him the lunch rush for it. He’d miss Piper’s advice and Juniper’s warm smile. He’d miss how Leo makes a fool out of himself and how Calypso is the first one to knock him down a peg with fond smacks to his head. He’d miss how Frank is the one of the sweetest guys he knows, not to mention he had to look out for Hazel and not let him off easy by not being there to growl at him if he even thought about messing up. He’d even miss Annabeth and how annoyingly nice and smart she is despite how he tried to hate her.

 

And…he would miss Percy, too. He would miss his dorky smile that was too boyish to be considered sexy but somehow he pulled it off anyway. He would miss his annoying laugh and soothing voice and big hands that held him like he was something to be cherished. He would miss every fucking corny joke he makes and how he gropes Nico’s ass at every opportunity, even if someone’s looking. He would miss how he transforms into a giant, cuddly octopus when he sleeps and insists on eating one handed because he claims his hand would get lonely if they broke apart. He would miss the way he makes him feel so much, too much, and how it makes him feel like he’s no longer connected to his body.

 

There must be something seriously wrong with him because he had only known the boy for such a short period in his life and he was already ready to sign his life away to him. He knew it wasn’t healthy, especially after everything he went through and with all the shit he was still dealing with, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t care if he was clinically insane for giving his heart away to someone he barely knew and trusting him when he had no right to be so carefree with his emotions. There were a million reasons why he shouldn’t love Perseus Jackson but he only needed one reason for why he should, and it’s that he knows he loves him back.

 

They might be the most idiotic people on the entire planet but he would take stupidity over misery any day. One look at Percy’s smiling eyes, and he was done for. He started to like him because he was gorgeous and it was damn hard not to. But then he found out what a fucking moron he is, but also what an amazing, caring, sensitive and thoughtful person he was. He was the fiercest and most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for and he wouldn’t hesitate to help someone in need. He was also actually very smart and had dreams and the ambition to achieve them like Nico knew one day he would.

 

He was so pissed when he thought Percy was just using him, but now he just thinks about it and it’s all so stupid. He can’t expect him to be perfect because that’s just a dick move. Nobody is perfect, but he comes pretty close. He realizes now that he might have overreacted, but he was glad he did. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is now.

 

Okay, sure, where he is now isn’t all that great. He barely eats anymore and what he does eat just ends up flushed down the drain as soon as he’s able, which is getting harder and harder to hide, but Nico isn’t anything if he isn’t determined. He still hates himself and doesn’t think he’ll be able to fully put his trust in someone for a long time, even of Percy has gained most of it. He still sees Alex everyday and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s even imagining it anymore. It’s been too long since he last talked to his sister and he think he might go insane seeing his father again, but…he thinks he’s okay.

 

There’s a lot of bad in his life right now, but he’s had it worse before and this is nothing compared to where he was three years ago. At least this time he has friends he can count on, a sister who’s mostly if not fully aware of what’s going on and another one who’s close enough to help out, and a sort of, kind of, boyfriend who doesn’t hurt him intentionally. There is so much shit in his life but it could be worse. That’s a weak line and he knows it, but it’s also true.

 

That still didn’t mean that he was looking forward to leaving this bathroom and walking into Tartarus of his own free will, though. He felt like he was just going in loops, now. Everything sucks but it isn’t that bad. He hates himself but he isn’t that bad. He doesn’t want to see his father but maybe it won’t be that bad. It is bad but maybe it actually isn’t. It was getting so annoying that he would rather shoot himself in the foot, but at the same time he couldn’t stop.

 

He met his eyes in the mirror, roaming down to take a look at the bags that were staring to give the coal of his eyes a run for their money because of how dark they were, then traveling down to glare at the speckled freckles across the bridge of his nose, finally stopping to count the cracks on his chapped lips.

 

There was movement by the door and he stared over his shoulder in the mirror at the young man who came in, and he almost panicked at the familiar sneering face and blond hair before he blinked and it was just Percy standing there, looking at him with warm eyes filled with brimming concern. He let out a quiet sigh and turned back to stare at his mirror self. “It’s just you…”

 

  
But then he did a double take and looked back at him, really and truly looked at him. He was…gorgeous. It wasn’t fair really, how c ould it be? Angles are not meant to walk the Earth because they would be like gods among humans, worshipped and adored like they were meant to be but holding too much power over the weak souls of the living. Beautiful and terrible and full of so much hope and love that it was overwhelming, too much to comprehend but not enough to be satisfied with, only ever wanting more and more until there was no more left to give, but still killing yourself to find the impossible in their unfathomable beings.  


 

There he was, posing with one hip cocked to the side and a casual smirk, dripping confidence and amusement like it came naturally to him. Hell, maybe it did. Maybe he was born knowing all of his strengths and just how to work them, popping out of his mother in a classy suit and looking like he was never meant to wear anything else, except for the tanned skin that wrapped around his sinewy muscles like shiny present. Nico couldn’t decide if he wanted him to continue to look just the way he does at this moment forever or if he wanted to drag the other boy back to his room as quickly as he could and strip him of everything but that blinding smile and devour him whole. Both sounded equally as appealing.

 

Nico had never seen him dressed up to this extent before. Sure, he had seen him spruce up in nice slacks and a colorful button down and sweater when he had a presentation that day, but mostly he had only ever seen him in tight jeans and equally as tight shirt, showing off his muscles in bright colors and crazy articles of clothing Nico was pretty sure must have resurfaced from somewhere deep, deep in the past where even his grandparents wouldn’t even remember why it had been a popular thing to do. And it was true that the man always looked like sex personified no matter what he wore, but seeing him like this was new and exciting and …honestly quite a bit of a turn on.

 

He was wearing a suit, an actual suit that looked like it cost more than a shiny penny and wasn’t one of those cheap, wrong sized pieces of fabric that people rent to go to prom in. Nico had grown up around men in nice suits and he was no stranger to the taste of the upper class, and even though Percy’s get up wasn’t nearly as fancy as some of the ones that he had seen people parade around in, or even some of the ones he had been forced into countless times, but it was still unarguably a  _nice_  suit.

 

The suit was a deep navy blue, double breasted and with a peaked lapel. He had a crisp white button down underneath it and a green tie with small intricate designs that looked like polka dots, a gold tie pin stretching across it and gold cufflinks adorning his wrists. His shoes were a shiny black and he had a neatly folded white and green handkerchief in his breast pocket, a gold watch peeking out from underneath his sleeves. He was clean shaven and he even looked like he might have done something to tame his hair into submission.

 

Nico stared at him in awe while biting down on his bottom lip. His brain didn’t seem to want to work and he had no idea why Percy was here in the bathroom with him wearing a nice suit of all things, but he did know that he was so incredibly grateful to have been blessed with such a wonderful sight. He wanted to know if his underwear matched the rest of his clothes, or better yet if it would match the color of the carpet in his dorm room, or maybe if it looked just as good pulled down to his thighs right here against the bathroom sink.

 

Percy smirked a little and took a step closer to him. Nico didn’t know how someone managed to look so undeniably sexy and touchingly concerned at the same time, but however he managed to pull it off, he should definitely keep it up. There wasn’t anything the boy could do to make Percy look anything but amazing, short of mass genocide or eating the ends of a loaf of bread, but the way he would smile at him with one side of his mouth turned up, eyes squinting in worry and head tilted to the side, was definitely one of Nico’s favorite looks on him.

 

“I thought I might find you here.”

 

He dropped his eyes down to watch his mouth as it curled around his words, tongue slipping out to wet his bottom lip. Forcing a shaky breath out, he cut his eyes away from the intruder and went back to the task of dissecting his appearance.

 

“Why are you dressed so spick and span?”

 

“Spick and span? You’re so cute when you talk old timer to me, doll.”

 

Nico rolled his eyes but he felt the corner of his lips tug without his permission. He kept his eyes trained forcefully on his nose to keep from turning around and running his hands over fabric on his shoulders. “Says the guy calling me doll.”

 

He saw movement and then he felt Percy press up against his back, just close enough where he could feel his emanating from his body. He wanted to press back, but he also didn’t want him to win so easily. In all honesty, Nico gave up a long time ago and it was more apparent now than ever, to everyone, that he was basically Percy’s now. But he didn’t care as much as he used to, because he knew Percy was his, too.

 

“You like it, don’t lie.”

 

Hair tickled the side of his neck as Percy rested his head on his shoulder, arms wrapping his stomach and breath stuttering down his collar bone. He lowered his eyes and found that Percy was already looking at him. When the other boy realized he had caught him, he winked and watched adoringly as a blush spilled over his cheeks and ran down his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt.

 

Nico didn’t respond but he couldn’t break eye contact either. He was just so gorgeous and he would take any distraction he could get at the moment. He didn’t want to think about anything, he just wanted Percy to hold him in his arms and tell him everything he wanted to hear that he knew would never be true. His whole life was centered on escaping the real world and delving into a fantasy world, a world where all of his problems dissipated like clouds and the good always vanquished the evil.

 

“Shut up. You never answered my question, either. What’s with the get up?”

 

Percy leaned to put a kiss on the side of his neck and then untangles his arms from around his waist. He pushed one of his hips against the sink and turned to face Nico, arms crossed over his chest. “I should be the one asking you that. Here I am all dressed and ready to go and you are still in sweats and a Pokémon t-shirt. Not that I’m complaining, because you look so adorable right now, but I thought you said this was a ‘formal affair’?”

 

Nico scrunched up his brows and turned to face the other boy. “What are you talking about, Perce?”

 

“The dinner, Nico. I know you haven’t forgotten, or else you wouldn’t be in here moping around looking like a kicked puppy.”

 

Blood rose to his face as took a step closer to the boy, pushing a finger into his chest. “I am not _moping_!” Percy laughed at him and more heat spread across Nico’s face. “I’m not!” Nico jabbed his finger roughly at his chest again and dropped his chin, embarrassment coursing through his veins because he knew that Percy was right. He  _was_  moping and it was pathetic.

 

A finger tapped under his chin until he was forced to look up, red faced but refusing to care. He mumbled something at the other boy but Percy just shook his head at him, a smile playing on his lips. “It’s fine, sweetheart. You’re fine. But…I have to know if we’re still doing this or if we’re running? Because if we’re running, I might need to change clothes.”

 

Nico blinked at him slowly, a different kind of warmth spreading through his chest, but he was also confused. “I am going to the dinner, I am just…procrastinating. But why are you in a suit?”

 

“We talked about this. I’m going with you.”

 

Nico’s eyes widened as realization flooded his system. The thought that Percy was serious, serious enough to show in a suit ready to head out made him incredibly happy and he could almost feel his heart pressing against his ribs in joy. But he also felt panic bubbling in his throat, a dull pressure at the back of his tongue that made him feel dizzy, his body thrumming with adrenaline and dread.

 

“No, you are most definitely not. I didn’t think you were serious!”

 

Percy narrowed his eyes at him good naturedly and placed his hand on the side of Nico’s neck, running his thumb soothingly behind his ear. “You’ll believe me one day when I say how serious I am about you, but for now, you don’t really have a choice. I didn’t ask if  _you_ were running or staying, I asked if  _we_ were running or staying.”

 

They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, both equally daring the other to challenge them. Then Percy slowly drug his hand away from his neck to cup his chin and smooth his thumb over his bottom lip instead. Nico groaned at him and Percy’s smirk grew to a full fledged grin.

 

“Dammit, Percy! That isn’t fair.”

 

Percy chuckled at him and leaned closer. “I never said I played fair, did I?”

 

Nico smiled a little and shook his head. He thought Percy was going to kiss him, he looked like he wanted to and Nico wanted him to, but he pulled away and placed his hand on his shoulder.

 

It was becoming more frustrating every day. Percy had refused to touch him ever since they made up. He supposed that he would call what they did making up, but he still wasn’t 100% sure what was going on between them. It didn’t help that Percy hadn’t kissed him or held his hand or tried to initiate anything sexual since, either. Nico was a little grateful for it because he wasn’t sure he was ready for all that stuff to happen again yet, but it was still annoying as hell. He felt like they went from 0 mph to 100 mph, and then back to 0 mph in no time at all and it felt like he had whiplash from it all.

 

It wasn’t like he had pulled away completely, though. Percy still gave him hugs at every opportunity, most of them lasting longer than they need to be, and he still came over incessantly to cuddle him half to death. There were constantly light pecks being delivered to his forehead or the top of his head or his shoulders or the side of his neck. Hell, Percy had even given him a couple of massages and let him tell you, there wasn’t anything better in the entire Earth than Percy Jackson massaging your back or feet while singing to you.

 

“You’re not going to give up are you?”

 

Percy shook his head at him quickly, sending his neat flying. Once it was hanging in his face he squeezed Nico’s shoulder before letting him go to face the mirror, hands darting out to try to get his hair back into order. Nico watched him silently before reaching a hand out and grabbing Percy’s wrist.

 

He stopped what he was doing and turned to face Nico, face etched with curious confusion. Nico smiled at him and blew out a breath. “Fine, but if you’re going with me, your hair is staying messy.” Nico stood on his tippy toes to run his hands haphazardly through the other boy’s hair until it took on is usually bed-head appearance.

 

“What, did my hair look that bad?”

 

“No, I just like it better like this.”

 

Percy smirked at him devilishly and Nico realized what he said. He cleared his throat and pulled his hands away, trying to look busy and utterly failing at it. He could see the other boy shaking his head at him in his peripheral vision, but he chose to ignore it.

 

“So! Are you planning to go like this or…?”

 

Nico cut his eyes to Percy sharply, sticking his tongue out at him. “No!”

 

“Well, then you might as well get dressed! Move your ass slow poke!”

 

Nico sighed and frowned at his reflection. How was he supposed to tell the other boy that it was more than just putting on his clothes and going. He had to look presentable or else his father would give hell for it. He couldn’t just walk out there like this, because his father would send him right back and hound him until he was decent, or worse yet, he would send someone up after him to take care of it for him.

 

“I can’t, Perce. I don’t look…good right now.”

 

He could tell Percy wanted to protest from the tilt of his brow and the quirk of his lips, but he didn’t. Instead, he grabbed Nico by the shoulders until his lower back was pressing into the sink and Percy was standing in front of him, toe to toe. He watched as the green eyed boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a container of something but before Nico could figure out what it was, Percy put his hand over his eyes and demanded him to keep them closed.

 

He complied almost immediately and he couldn’t find it in him to care that he was basically just blindly doing what Percy told him to because he knew he wouldn’t hurt him, would never hurt him like  _he_ did.

 

So he stood there with his eyes closed and his jaw clenched tight, hands reaching unseeingly forward until they bunched at the fabric he found at Percy’s hips. There was a smooth and somewhat cool sensation running over his skin, beneath his eyes and on his nose and at his temples, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He just stood there and breathed in deeply the salty scent that came off of Percy in waves.

 

After a while, the sensation went away and Percy was telling him to open his eyes with a gentle voice. Nico blinked slowly and let his eyes get adjusted to the light again, staring into Percy’s deep emerald pools that were a lot closer than he remembered them being. And just like that, he wanted to kiss him again. With Percy looming so close, pink lips enticingly mere inches away and gazing at him with such affection, with  _love_ , he could hardly help himself from wanting to close the distance between them.

 

But once again, Percy smiled softly at him and backed away, this time turning him bodily back to face the mirror while doing so. Nico snapped his gaze back to Percy as soon as he was able, but Percy just smiled and took his chin in his grasp firmly until Nico looked away to take in his appearance.

 

He looked like a new person almost. The dark circles under his eyes had just about completely disappeared and his eyelids looked less red and irritated. His skin tone was even and the intensity of the freckles on his nose were less prominent, giving his whole face a healthier, more even look about it.

 

Nico looked at Percy with a small smirk. “That doesn’t match my color.”

 

Percy huffed at him and massaged his shoulders. “Well, it would be your color if you got out in the sun more often. And besides, it’s close enough for now.”

 

“You could have just given it to me and let me do it. I’m pretty much the master of foundation now and can make black and blue look like healthy tan.”

 

Percy winced at the mention of his past, his eyes darkening, and Nico felt a little bad about it. He hadn’t meant to bring it up, and he definitely didn’t mean to hurt Percy, but it was true. Nico had long since become familiar with the technique of using makeup to cover up bruises and scratches. He had to, or else he would just be made fun of more and Alex would be tempted to add to his collection for humiliating him by not attempting to clean up.

 

Nico bit his lip and scratched at the back of his head, trying to think of a way to lighten the mood. “Uh, why are you carrying around makeup anyway?”

 

There was a beat of silence before Nico looked up to see Percy gazing at him with a sad expression. “You’re not the only one who knows the many uses for makeup.”

 

He swallowed harshly. He didn’t know what to say to that, because he didn’t really know what he was talking about but he wasn’t stupid and he knew at least  _what_ he was talking about. It made him realize that there are still a lot of things that he didn’t know about Percy. There had been so much shit that went down recently that the whole getting to know each other part was sort of pushed to the background.

 

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Percy beat him to it. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Another time, maybe, but for now how about we just focus on getting ready. It’s almost the time that you said someone would be here to pick you up.”

 

Nico nodded his head and took a tentative step forward. He stretched out a hand and clutched weakly at the air in front of Percy’s chest before resting his head there instead, the steady beating of Percy’s heart under his forehead. Percy hesitated before wrapping his arms around his shoulders and resting his cheek on the top if his head. Nico whispered, “I’m sorry.”

 

Percy just chuckled and rubbed his cheek into his hair. “I told you it is totally fine, so don’t worry about it. Now are you going to get dressed or what, you lazy ass?”

 

Nico huffed at him and pulled away, punching him in the shoulder none too lightly. Percy grinned at him and Nico couldn’t help but return it. “You’re a jerk, you know that?” He walked out of the bathroom, knowing Percy would follow. As predicted, he could hear his chuckle trailing after him.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. And you love it. You want any help?”

 

“I’ve got it, just wait for me in the lobby or something okay?”

 

Percy left with a promise to be waiting for him, reminding him once again to get his ass in gear. Nico shouted after him that he wasn’t lazy and that his ass was perfectly capable of getting things done by himself, but it probably didn’t make much of an impact according to the raucous laughter floating down the hallway.

 

He closed the door softly behind him and checked the time on his phone, noticing with slight panic that his driver was supposed to be there in ten minutes. He really didn’t have any more time to waste, unfortunately, and that meant there was only one thing left that he could do. He had to put the damn suit on and figure out how to survive the hell that he was sure the coming night would be.

 

He looked at the box sitting pristinely on his bed with disdain, but he knew no amount of venom that he put into his glare would make it disappear. Slowly and reluctantly, he approached the box and tore of the lid, not even looking at himself as he got ready. He pulled on his clothes as fast and efficiently as he could, not even bothering to find a mirror to make sure he had everything on right, and he damn well wasn’t going to brush his hair either.

 

It took him almost the whole ten minutes the get the damn suit on. It had been so long since he had last needed to wear a suit, and although he hadn’t forgotten the process, it was still annoying as fuck to actually have to do it again, especially under such stupid conditions. He actually had the easiest time with the tie. His mother had taught him a long time ago how a couple ways to tie a tie, and a bow tie, because she wanted him to know how to be a gentleman, and a gentleman, according to her, knows how to tie and wear a tie properly. He would never forget her nimble fingers moving the fabric around his neck as he watched her with rapt attention, sitting with his butt on the kitchen counter, feet swinging carelessly, and his nonno loudly singing as he danced around with his nonna in the living room, Bianca trying to butt her way in and dance between them.

 

Nico finished by shoving his feet into a pair of shiny suede shoes. He grabbed his wallet and keys and shoved them into his pants pocket, his phone shoved in on the other side. He took one last look around the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, and then he was out the door, locking it behind him. Hopefully Grover had a key or was planning on staying over at Juniper’s.

 

He quickly made his way to the lobby and found Percy leaning against a window, staring out at the darkening sky with a furrowed brow. He was really touched that the boy was putting so much effort into try to make him feel better. Percy was a dream really. He wasn’t perfect, but Nico didn’t want him to be perfect, he just wanted him to be real. The other boy was so caring and loyal, full of so much joy and hope and love that it was hard not to catch a contagious smile in his presence, and Nico wanted to love him for the rest of his days. That thought still scared him, but he was getting used to it.

 

Nico cleared his throat to get the other boy’s attention, but it seemed like he was off in his own world, not paying attention to what was happening around him. Things like that would get him into trouble if he wasn’t careful, Nico would know, but somehow he made the reckless habit endearing. He coughed again, this time louder and finally getting Percy’s attention.

 

Percy turned to him with a smile, but it slowly slipped off his face and his mouth was hanging open slightly and his, eyes wide and glazed. It was a funny look, but it still looked good on him. He didn’t know why he was looking at him like that, though. I mean sure, this was the first time that he had worn anything besides band shirts and skinny jeans in front of him, but he didn’t see what the big deal was.

 

Nico’s suit was obviously more expensive than Percy’s. It was made of cashmere instead of wool, with silver cufflinks and buttons and peaked lapels. The suit was black, as was his button down, waistcoat and tie. His shoes were a glossy black. The only color present on the suit besides his gleaming buttons was the handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket, which was a rich green color that almost matched the color of Percy’s tie. His father had included a number of different color handkerchiefs for him to choose from, but after seeing Percy’s outfit he couldn’t resist sticking it to his father in any way that he could.

 

Speaking of Percy, the boy still hadn’t moved an inch and he had been standing there for quite some time by then. He started to get self conscious, wondering if all the black made him look too pale or if he just didn’t have the body type to pull off a suit. He was just standing there and staring at him, his mouth agape and not making a noise. He called out nervously.

 

“Percy?”

 

That seemed to do the trick. Instantly, his mouth clamped closed and his eyes veered to meet his eyes. He still wasn’t smiling, but at least he wasn’t opening gaping at him anymore. He was about to call out again, ask if he had something on his face or something, but Percy advanced toward him with sure steps and then there were firm hands pressed to his cheeks, cradling his head gently. Nico barely caught Percy whispering, “You’re so fucking sexy…”, before his lips came crashing down on his own.

 

Nico moaned at the unexpected contact but closed his eyes quickly to enjoy the feeling while it lasted. There was no telling what brought this one or how long Percy would allow it to go on before pulling away and going back to his strict cuddling only rule.

 

His lips were so soft, sliding smoothly against his own, slick and warm and making Nico’s toes tingle. He kept it fairly chaste, barely opening his mouth to take Nico’s plush bottom lip between his own and sucking on it slowly. He didn’t remember the last time he had kissed someone just to kiss them, with no tongue or expectation of it going anywhere beyond what they were already doing. It was nice.

 

He felt Percy’s hands grip him tightly around the waist and so he slid his own hands up to tangle in his messy hair, pulling on it slightly and feeling the strands glide freely through his fingers. Nico pressed closer and inhaled deeply, savoring the taste of Percy’s lips against his own, loving the way he would alternate between placing a peck on his upper lip and sucking his lower lip into his mouth.

 

Somebody coughed behind them and they abruptly broke apart, Percy’s hands still on his hips. Nico looked over his shoulder and his blush deepened. He turned toward Percy and gave him a shaky smile before removing Percy’s hands from around his waist. Percy gave him a smile that was much steadier than Nico’s own, but he knew the other boy must be nervous too.

 

“Mr. Di Angelo. I am here as your escort.”

 

Nico nodded at the man, who appeared to be no older than in his late twenties, brown hair neat and suit straight and professional. “It’s just Nico, please. Mr. Di Angelo is…my grandfather.”

 

The man nodded at him and then looked past him to nod his head at Percy. “Is this gentleman accompanying you, Mr. Di Angelo?”

 

Nico looked back and forth between them, not knowing what to say. This guy, his babysitter, driver or whatever, had walked up to them while they were kissing and he didn’t know if he was under any obligation to report his observations to his father. Not that it really mattered since Nico was sure his father must have hired someone to keep track of his comings and goings if only to ensure that he didn’t do something stupid that would reflect badly on him or his company.

 

“Uh, y-yeah…I mean, yes. H-he is?”

 

  
The man’s expression never changed but Nico thought that he saw the smallest twitch of his lips for a moment, and he was positive his eyes were da ncing in amusement at him. He didn’t betray this in any other way, instead nodding his head politely again to both of them. “Of course. If you both will follow me, we should get to the restaurant as soon as possible, Sir does not like to be kept waiting.”  


 

They followed the man out to a limo and stood back while he opened the door to let them in. Nico let Percy slide in first and then went in after him, but the door did not close once he was sitting. Nico turned to stare up at his chauffeur with confusion and swallowed at the worried look he was giving him. “Mr. Di Angelo, I would…be cautious. And I am sorry.”

 

He closed the door then and got in the driver seat, putting the visor up to seclude them in the back and driving off to whatever restaurant they were meant to meet his father. Nico faced Percy nervously. The green eyed young man took his hand in his own and squeezed it reassuringly.

 

“It will be okay. I promise.”

 

It wasn’t. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!   
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	27. Wednesday, October 29th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. I missed you all like crazy. Things are still a bit rough, but I have the spirit of hope on my side. I am sorry for being absent for so long, but I'm hoping that I will be wrapping up part one in the next couple of chapters. Thank you to everyone who has been patient with my ridiculous update schedule, especially those who have commented and I have only got back to you now. Know that I will get back to you, even if it takes me a while, and I read and appreciate every word. 
> 
> I really didn't want to do this, because ridiculously short chapters are the absolute pits, but I figured an update on the progression of the story and also my status as still being a human being that is alive would be better than nothing, even if it's only a little over a thousand words. I hope I am correct in that assumption. 
> 
> Please enjoy what little I could turn out for you, and I will update as soon as I can get my ass into gear.

     The car ride over was awkward and way too short, at least what he remembered of it. He was too busy hyperventilating and clinging onto Percy's lapels to actually notice anything about where they were going or how long it took them to get there, let alone remember anything that he might have said. He didn't particularly care where they were going and he was too nervous to pay attention to which direction they had driven. The whole ride over, which took about half an hour, Nico had clutched onto Percy's hand hard enough to leave crescent moons engraved in his flesh. He felt a little bad about it when he realized what he had done, but Percy told him not to worry about it so he went back to squeezing and trying not to vomit.

     The ride over seemed to last an eternity and no time at all, all at once. Every second that passed, Nico was trying to think of elaborate ways to get out of it. Sometimes he would voice his plans to Percy but the other boy was quick to put him down, reminding him of how much worse it would be in the long run if he didn't through with it. He would have been upset with him if his reasoning wasn't so damn logical.

     Nico was sure that the only reason he was still breathing from the anxiety piling on his chest was because Percy was right beside him, holding his hand, kissing the top of his head and whispering encouragements. Somehow Percy brought him from the point where he was almost having a full blown panic attack, wanting to claw at the windows and beat his fists against the door, to where he was now, breathing deeply and evenly while resting his forehead on the side of Percy's neck, eyes closed and getting lost in the feeling of Percy's large hand rubbing soothing circles on his back. He was a life savior, that was for sure.

     But it couldn't last forever. Nico was brought harshly to that reality when he felt them coming to a stop and suddenly his door was opening, his driver holding it open and standing politely out of the way waiting for him to get out.

     It was too real all of a sudden and Nico felt like panicking again. Fear rising quickly to the back of his throat, he whipped his head around to stare at Percy with pleading eyes. The green eyed boy took his head between his head between his hands and bumped their foreheads together, not blinking as he gazed at Nico with soft eyes.

     "You can do this. I'll be right there with you, I promise."

     Percy leaned forward and pecked Nico's lips, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling back to brush his curls out of his face. Nico blinked at him slowly and chased after him to place one last kiss on his lips. They both pulled back and Nico took a deep breath, his eyes darting back and forth across Percy's features to try to find his strength.

     The only reason he actually decided to step out was because Percy was pushing at his back and childishly wouldn't let him fall back and cower in his lap. Although, thinking back on it now, maybe he was the one being childish. Rightfully so, he thinks.

     His babysitter waved off the chauffeur when he stepped up to take the keys and Nico tried to hide him. Percy didn't let him. Instead he grasped his hand and tugged him to the side so that they are in full view of the restaurant. Glaring at him only makes his green eyes dance and his stupid mouth quirk up on one side, and Nico hates that he can't hate him for it. He fidgeted uncomfortably and not even Percy could stop him from picking at a loose string on his shirt sleeve until it unraveled to a length that could no longer be hidden. Percy grabbed at the string and broke it before throwing it on the ground and kissing Nico on the forehead.

     If he was expecting some big and horrible walk through of what the evening was supposed to entail, he was hugely disappointed. As soon as the chauffeur was placated with what Nico knew was a more than generous tip for cheating him out of his services, their driver turned to them with a sad smile, raised his hand in a half-assed salute and got back into the limo to drive casually away.

     He turned to look at Percy with lost eyes but the other boy just looked at him slightly panicked when he saw how confused he looked. They started at each other with wide eyes, not speaking, standing there in front of what had to be one of the most expensive restaurants in town with at least twenty something snobby business men and their housewives waiting for their expensive cars to pull around looking at them with disdain and suspicion.

     Percy finally broke the silence by huffing at him. "I don't know why you're looking at me like that. You are the one who does this kind of stuff. I don't know what I'm doing."

     Nico grimaced at him and looked through the window of his restaurant out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, but I haven't done it in years. And you know it's different this time."

     He couldn't see much through the windows. It was getting dark outside and the light was beginning to spill out onto the street and bathing the people waiting under the veranda. He could see a person in a penguin suit standing behind a podium and smiling falsely polite at the guests who appeared to be currently yelling at him with red faces. There was a fancy chandelier hanging over the entrance and several red curtains draped along the walls leading to some fancy looking stairs that had carved designs along the wooden rails.

     "Well, we can still run."

     Nico glanced back at Percy, taking in the slant of his lips that told him that he was half joking and half serious. He knew in that moment that if he asked him to seriously run away with him, away from this place, he knew that he would without a second thought. It was comforting in a way that Nico hadn't felt since before he received that damning phone call from his father, maybe not even since his mother was still alive and would sing him softly to sleep on stormy nights.

     "I know. I can't."

     "Yeah, I know you can't."

     It was so stupid, probably the stupidest thing Nico had done to date, but definitely not the stupidest thing he will ever do, but he reached forward and grabbed at Percy's hand fiercely, weaving their fingers together and squeezing hard enough where he could feel their pulses bouncing off each other in a weird sort of limbo that felt like an intricate dance that he didn't know the steps to, but he was keeping up just fine.

     Percy squeezed back just as hard and they turned to face the future together, or at least the deciding factor of what was going to happen for them in the immediate future. It felt like so much more than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!  
> [joslushie](http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com)


	28. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello everyone!

Unfortunately, this is not a new chapter. I am endlessly sorry if this got anyone's hopes up, but I do have a couple announcements that I wanted to make.

Firstly, I am tired of posting a new chapter titled "AUTHOR'S NOTES" every time that I have something that I want to announce about the story or anything along those lines because I hate knowing that someone is going to get an email that the story has been updated, or stumble across the story on the feed, and think that a new chapter has been posted when in fact it was just me wanting to share something. (Much like this "chapter" is going to do to a lot of you, my apologies.)

So! I decided that I am going to have a Tumblr for this story and my writing in general. There is a whole lot left in this universe that I want to write about, and since it is probably going to be continued for a long while, I decided creating a page such as this wouldn't be such a bad idea. My Tumblr will include announcements about when I'm updating, how the process is going, maybe some snippets of work in it I have not yet posted, a tags list, a discussion of where the story is going, background on characters, updates about me and my writing and such as it is, and a whole lot of other things that I am not wholly for sure about yet. I will also have my inbox open for Ask's and Submissions, open to anonymous, as well. I'll explain more fully there. My Tumblr is joslushie, and here's the link: http://www.joslushie.tumblr.com. You can follow me if you would like, because that is where updates and other cool tid bits about the sory, as well as continuing on for the second part, and any consecutive parts after that, can be found. Currently, I do not have anything actually posted just yet, but I will be working on it throughout the day and onward.

The second part of the announcement is that the NEXT CHAPTER (and perhaps the final chapter if we all hope really hard that my "writer's block" will go away long enough for me to write more than a couple thousand of words) will be out sometime on SATURDAY, AUGUST 1ST!!!

Okay, that should be it. Anything else concerning the story or my writing (etc) will take place on my Tumblr "blog" from here on out.

Three cheers for no more disappointing "not chapters"!

Love you all, and see you either on August 1st, or perhaps before then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr! [joslushie](http://joslushie.tumblr.com/)


	29. Wednesday, October 29th continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The last chapter of WCUA, part one of OIBU. I know it is a couple of days late, but I wanted to get it right since it was to be the last chapter. Happy birthday to TsunaNoble and TheOtakuSupreme, this one is dedicated to the both of you. To stay up to date on what is going to happen in the future with this AU, as well as other cool tidbits, you can always check in at my Tumblr (link in the end notes). I take prompts!

     The restaurant was beautiful, in the way that all classy things usually are. Everything was dark polished wood and draped in red velvet curtains, the staff was pristine and exuded a subtle air of respect mixed with disdain, a feeling Nico was all too used to. The sound of clinking china and reserved laughter flitted through the room like currents caressing the ocean floor, ready to knock you off your feet unexpectedly and unapologetically. They had barely stepped through the door for more than three seconds and he was already scoping out the place for possible exit strategies and the nearest bathroom for when he, undoubtedly, would throw up no less than three times.

     Percy put a hand on his lower back and gently pushed him toward the host stand. He wanted to glare back at him, but his stumbling had caught the host's attention. The man smiled at him a little pityingly. "Can I help you, sir?"

     Nico shoved his hands into his pockets and fought the urge to take a step back. He raised his chin, perhaps tilting it a little too high to be convincing, and swallowed around the constriction threatening to close up his airway. "Yes, uh, the name is Nico do Angelo."

     He felt sillier now, being technically an adult, dressed in a suit and about to attend a 'business' meeting, than he ever did when he was 12 years old doing the exact same thing as he was doing now. Thankfully the host, a man in his early thirties, just scanned the binder open before him briefly before taking a pen and writing something in it.

     "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, most of your party has already been seated. If you would follow me?"

     Nico ducked his head in a brief nod and stood back as the man stepped from behind his stand to show them to the back. He glanced at Percy and saw him giving him a ridiculous smile, both thumbs up in the air and framing his face. He's such a dork, what was he supposed to do with him?

     They both trailed behind the other man past a few tables, Nico trying to look confident when the host glimpsed back to make sure they were following, but they were forced to come to an abrupt halt when the man turned and stepped back toward them. Nico almost ran straight into his chest, but Percy reached out and pulled him back by his shoulders.

     "I'm sorry, sir, but you were the only name that was put on my list. Who is the gentleman that is accompanying you?"

     Nico shuffled his feet nervously. "Yes, well, this is Perseus Jackson. He will be joining us for dinner."

     "I'm sorry, sir, but I am afraid he is not on the guest list and therefore we do not have a place for him set." The man looked anything but sorry, in fact, this was probably the highlight of his entire night judging from the smug smile threatening to break across his face.

     Nico could feel something rising up his throat and he wasn't sure if he was angry or if he was about to be sick, but either way, the self satisfied bastard chose the wrong guy to be difficult with tonight. Tears were starting to prick the back of his eyes and he was so annoyed with himself because there was no reason why he should be crying at this moment, and yet he found it so hard to stop. "Well, so much for that. Please inform my father, Mr. Plutos, that I will not be attending dinner and will instead be adjourning for the night with my guest."

     He turned quickly just to almost run right into another chest, this one infinitely more familiar but just as in the way. He glanced up to see Percy twisting his mouth at him disapprovingly. Nico squinted his eyes at him, putting as much heat into it as possible, but he knew it was for naught. When Percy saw that Nico wasn't backing down immediately, he whipped out his back up plan, a plan consisting of big, round, watery eyes, a quivering lip, and slight tilt of his head. You _traitor_ , he mouthed at him.

     Sighing, Nico turned around and faced the very unimpressed man tapping his foot at him. "Yes, joking of course. I am officially extending an invitation to my companion here, one Mr. Perseus Jackson, under my own authority to heir of Plutos enterprises, second only to the present company of my father, who organized this meeting. If you wish, please feel free to consult with Mr. Plutos yourself on the matter beforehand. Also, I encourage you to mention, discreetly, that my presence goes accordingly to Mr. Jackson's."

     Nico held his breath as the man's eyes widened at the mention of his father's name and winced when he vowed slightly before muttering for them to wait as he hurried off to do as he said. When he was gone, Nico let all of the air out of his lungs in a giant exhale and grit his teeth together.

     Percy whistled lowly beside him and nudged him with his elbow. "I have to hand it to you, that was impressive. I don't think I've ever heard you say anything so...elegantly before." He leaned in closer and Nico felt lips brush against the top of his ear. "Not to mention, that was extremely hot. I think I could get used to you giving orders."

     He was sure Percy could hear the breath coming in faster to his lungs and was able to pick up how fast his heart was beating by the small amount of skin that connected his lips to Nico's body. Damn it all the hell, but he was a fool for the filth that would that would pour out of Percy's mouth at times. Unfortunately, this couldn't be one of those times.

     Before he could scold Percy for saying such things in a public place, a warning that would have gone unheeded anyway, the host came back and interrupted him. Percy straightened and smiles innocently at the man. "Mr. di Angelo? If you will follow me, the both of you."

     "Would you look at that?" Percy whispered. Nico elbowed him hard in the stomach and grinned at his pained exhale.

     The host led them further back through the restaurant to a table that was remote from the other diners but not separated from the room as a whole. Sat at the table, all in fancy suits and laughing robustly, were three men. One of the men looked to be in his late forties, slicked back chestnut hair and a politician's smile. The other man was a bit younger, perhaps in his early to mid thirties, clean shaven with lines around his eyes and dark skin, his hair slicked back as well, but tucked neatly behind his ears.

     The man sitting between them was his father. He looked the same as he last saw him about half a year ago. He was dressed in a dark suit that was much like his own, except his tie was a deep red. His dark hair was shorter than Nico last remembered seeing it, no longer tied back in a small bun but instead short enough to not even brush the top of his ears. His face was tanned and almost completely wrinkly free, his teeth annoyingly straight. A lot of people over the years have told him that he looks just like his father, but Bianca had always said that the only people that though that had never met their mother. He hoped she was right.

     Walking right up to the table, the host stopped in front of the three men and announced their appearance. "Mr. Plutos, gentleman, two of your companions have arrived. Introducing Mr. di Angelo the younger and his guest, Mr. Perseus Jackson." With a short now, the man walked stiffly away and left them to face the wolf's hiding in human skin, a metaphor Nico thought was most suiting to the present company.

     His father met his eyes and stood up seemingly out of respect, but Nico knew it was nothing more than show. He had not been before his father for more than thirty seconds and he could already feel the anger bubbling beneath the surface of his skin and see the disdain reflected in the eyes that were so similar to his own. Somehow the fear he had tried to keep out of his system was mixing with his anger, reminding him of why he had never stood up to his father much in the past, and also of the pain that was brought forth for the few times that he did. He was starting to regret not brushing his hair before leaving the dorm.

     "Son! You are looking quite well. I am so glad you could join us for the evening." His father looked first to the man on his right and then the man on his left as he continued speaking. "This is my son that I have told you so much about, Niccolò. My boy, this is Mr. Mercer Hermes of the Travelers & Transportation corporations. You might remember meeting his wife, May, at the branch meeting in Belarus a few years back." Nico nodded politely at the plastic looking man who was more interested in staring at his cuff links than he was by him. His father continued as if he hadn't noticed. "And this here is Mr. Thanatos Mors, a colleague of mine through the Elixir branch. I do not believe that you have met before." Nico shook his head and responded with a mild smile at the man his father was extending his hand to, and he was pleasantly surprised that he got a small smile in return. The man, admittedly, did not look as if he smiled a great deal.

     "And who is the young man with you, Niccolò?"

     Before he could panic and stutter his way through an introduction, Percy had once again proven to be an amazing not-boyfriend and beat him to it. He thrust his hand out to his father, bravely meeting his eyes, a feat Nico had not seen many attempt, for a handshake. "Mr. Plutos, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Perseus Jackson. I attend school with Nico and he has become a really good friend of mine. It is an honor to join you for dinner."

     Nico pursed his lips to keep in a smile as Percy turned on the charm, a technique accompanied with his boy-next-door smile and all-American-boy attitude that Nico had seen in action plenty of time by now, mostly to persuade some of Nico's teachers into letting him sit in class occasionally. It seemed even father wasn't completely immune to his powers, as he smiled almost confused back at Percy and shook his hand.

     "And Mr. Hermes, it is a pleasure meeting you as well," Percy continued, "I have heard great things are coming from your merger with Argus inc., including a sponsorship at the Central Park zoo." Mr. Hermes smiled delighted at Percy and shook his hand vigorously, commenting on how nice it is of such a young man to be so knowledgable about what is going on in his community.

     Percy had turned to face the last man he had yet to greet and, shocking almost everyone at the table, smirked at him mischievously. "Thanatos, it's great seeing you again. How's your mother doing?"

     Stupefyingly, Thanatos smirked in kind at Percy and held out his hand to shake with Percy. "The same for you. My mother is doing great, she's out of the hospital for the time being and is raising hell at home. I trust that Sally and Paul are doing well?"

     "Yes, of course. I'll tell them you said hello if you promise to tell Alice I'm still waiting for the day she accepts my marriage proposal?"

     Thanatos laughed quietly and shook his head. "Absolutely, my mother will be glad to hear that you are still such a charmer."

     Nico was chewing at the inside of his lip as he glanced back and forth between Percy and Thanatos, unsure of what to make of the scene he was witnessing. Although he had no idea what was going on, he was less confused than the other two at the table, already used to Percy seeming to know half the population o Nee York and the name of their childhood dog.

     His father eventually became tired of being out of the loop and cleared his throat pointedly. "I presume that you two know each other?"

     Percy's smile dimmed when he turned back to look at his father but he was sure he was the only one who noticed. "Yes, we do. Thanatos went to school with my older half-brother, Triton, and he has been a friend of the family for many years because of that. In fact, he used to be my babysitter at one point early on in their friendship."

     Thanatos chimed into his story with a heavy sigh. "I had never before met such a stubborn and difficult child. It was like he was drawn to trouble like sharks smelling blood in water. Honestly, I put up with the brat for Triton and Sally's sake. But the kid eventually grew on me."

     The two shared a smirk and turned to grin at Nico. "He's exaggerating, really. He was the shark! Never letting me stay up past my bedtime, making me eat all of my vegetables, forcing me to actually brush my teeth. He was the true terror."

     The whole table shared a quiet laugh at his antics, all perhaps his father. Nico was feeling infinitely less nervous to face his father now. Percy somehow diffused the tense air at the table even before it had the chance to grow tense. He was so glad that Percy insisted on coming with him, because if he hadn't, Nico probably would have been running away and crying by now out of pure nervousness.

     "Well, it seems that there is one less introduction to make in that case. Please, let's all be seated." The laughter quickly died down as they all took their seats around the table. The five of them almost filled up the table except for the remaining empty chair placed besides Nico.

     "Will there by anyone else joining us tonight, father?"

     "Yes, the son of another of my colleagues should be joining us shortly in his father's place."

     Nico nodded and took a sip of water, hoping that his father would pretend he wasn't there already. He should have known better.

     Hades cleared his throat and addressed Percy. "And you, boy, what exactly do you do?"

     Nico resisted rolling his eyes so blatantly in front of company and stain hybrid the napkin in front of him. "He has already told you, father. He goes to school with me."

     "Yes, I'm studying marine biology." Percy ignored the way Nico cut his eyes at him. "I also work at the zoo part time."

     His father chuckled and gestured to the men beside him until he got them to laugh along with him. "The zoo, is that right? How quaint." Nico closed his eyes in humiliation and peeked at Percy, but the kelp head was just smiling like he had no idea he was just insulted.

     Nico licked his lips and pinched Percy in the thigh. "Actually, it's a very nice zoo. Percy is wonderful with the aquatic animals and he does good work there. He wants to work with sea animals and their habitats, right Percy? It's a very excellent field."

     His father's eyebrows rose into his hairline, his face morphing into cruel amusement. "Yes, that's very interesting, _Percy._ " He hated the way his mouth curled around the last word.

     At that time a waiter came by with a bottle of wine and filled their glasses, and his father told them that he had done everyone the favor of informing the staff of their dining expectations beforehand. Sensing that the conversation could easily slip back out of his control, he engaged the men to his left and right in a discussion that was too boring for Nico to pay attention to. It was almost sad how quickly they became ignored, but he was also grateful for it.

     It disgusted him how easily everything came back to him, his “training” as his father used to call it. Sitting at that table, back straight with the chatter of gruff voices discussing the latest drop on stock value, red wine is his glass despite the staff most likely knowing he is underage, it felt like remembering who he was. It was a shame he wasn’t in pleasant terms with the self he was reunited with.

     Unwillingly he felt himself slip back into his familiar role as the dutiful son. Almost without realizing it, he was analyzing the placement set in front of him.

     Someone had put the cake fork where the salad fork was supposed to go, and the dessert spoon was missing altogether. The napkin was folded too loosely and placed on the wrong side of the plates, the soup spoon was too small, and the dinner knife might as well be a steak knife. Not to mention the table cloth was an atrocious color and clashed with the plate designs. Despite hating the part of him that could still distinguish between a salad spoon and a soup spoon, and tell you where they go in relation to a dinner plate, he had to smile to himself at the last part.

     His mother used to think it was ridiculous that their father wanted them to learn proper table etiquette at such a young age, but she had gone along with it. That said, she didn’t give in easily. She insisted that if their father demanded they be formally trained to have table manners, then she was going to teach them about the arts. He was against it at first, but Maria convinced him that proper training in the arts would be just as useful to them as dining etiquette. Unfortunately he took to the idea a little too enthusiastically and made him take piano lessens until he refused to attend as a teenager.

     But even still, he loved those times with his mother. She used to read to them about the Renaissance artists and make macaroni art with them, Picasso style. She taught them about colors, too, and what were complimentary colors and which were not. Bianca took to painting right away, but he was always more drawn to reading and writing poetry. He made his first poem for his mother, about a little dog losing his yellow ball and his mother helping him find it. His father wouldn’t let him take it with him when he forced them to move to America, and it’s probably stuffed somewhere in a bookshelf at his nonno’s house back in Italy. He just knew his mother would hate the shade of green the table cloth was, a bastardization of the beautiful mix that Percy's eyes were.

     His mother would have liked Percy a lot. She would have thought he was "handsome and such a strong jawline, Nico, a nice young man, that one there." She would love the way Percy cares about everything and seems to know everyone. He could just imagine the way she would poke and prod at him, asking him where he was hiding the meat on his bones, thrift before turning to do the same thing to Nico. When Percy hurt him, because there was no erasing that he did, she would have held him and soothed him until his tears dried, promising all the while to hunt his mother down and plot with her all the ways that they could teach Percy a lesson. But she would have forgiven him eventually, after seeing how happy Percy made Nico. Nico didn't even want to think about the talking to he would get that came along with her forgiveness.

     Sometimes he misses her so bad that he could swear that she was just sitting beside him, pinching his cheeks and singing to him. He still wakes up some days and the first thought he has is why she hasn't come in already to try to drag him out of bed at a "proper hour". He'll smell her cooking or catch a glimpse of her favorite dress around a corner and wonder why he can't see her as clearly as he sometimes sees _him_.

     A hand ghosted over his thigh before coming down to rest and gently squeeze the inside of it. Nico looked over at Percy a little sheepishly. He didn't know how long he had been spacing out, but he still didn't mean to make him feel left out. "Sorry." He whispered.

     "It's okay," he whispered back, "but are you okay?"

     Nico opened his mouth to respond back, but then he paused and really thought about it. Was he okay? He currently didn't feel like running as fast as he possibly could, his father was ignoring him, which was still better than having his attention focused on him, or Percy for that matter, and he was actually the tiniest bit hungry. He gave a confused smile and whispered back to him, "Yeah, I think I am."

     They stared at each other adoringly, and for once Nico didn't want to slap the both of them for being so happy, because he needed this. He needed the comfort of Percy being so close, the warmth of Percy's hand on his thigh, the knowledge that he loved again, against impossible odds, and the one that loves him is right beside him through it all.

     "Hey, everyone, sorry I'm late. The traffic in New York City is remarkably like being back at home, but with more taxis fighting for the lead."

     And just like that, his good mood vanished into thin air like some cliché smoke signals shooting off to warn others of his impending demise. Slowly, he felt Percy's hand lift from his thigh and noticed the others in his peripherals turn to look at the speaker. He wanted to keep his eyes locked down onto the horrid table cloth and pretend had changed in the last thirty seconds, that he didn't regret the whispered words he just shared with Percy, and that he absolutely didn't need to get to a damn bathroom within five seconds or he was going to embarrass himself in front of a whole restaurant full of the worst kind of people that will judge him for every move he makes, most of all the man sitting directly in front of him just begging him to squeal because this l of his fault, he did it on purpose, that bastard, and now he can't breathe, he can't breathe and the air was acid anyway, and what was he supposed to do about that?

     His throat was closing up again but he had to look up, he had to, because the sooner he acknowledges his presence, they can get on with dinner and the sooner he can take Percy back to his dorm room and cuddle and watch anime for the rest of the night, forgetting this godsforsaken dinner disaster ever happened.

     He tried to take a deep breath but he couldn't swallow it, it wouldn't resonate in his lungs, and he was drowning, he was knocked over by the waves and they were dragging him away from the shore, far away, and he couldn't see anything but the horizon anymore. He was frightened, he was so scared, because it was a terrible sight, it was so beautiful he thought he might fly, fly so close to the sun and get lost at sea because the salt in the air was too thick and was clogging his pores.

     But he managed to lift his head, shyly and barely a tilt worthy of recognition, but he braved it just the same. And he saw him, standing there looking so harsh and beautiful, bright, clear blue eyes tearing a hole in his soul and a smile that curved too cruelly on his mouth to look anything but devastatingly terrific. His golden hair was like a halo glinting in the sunlight and Nico hated himself for being so stupid and still waxing poetic about him when he knew what a monster he really was. But the thing was, he was a monster, too. They were all monsters in their own right. What made Alex any different?

     Then he spoke to Nico, not reaching out to him like he usually would, but keeping his distance and smiling at him almost...sadly? "Nico, it's nice to see you again." And that voice, that voice wasn't cruel or mean, bust soft and almost calming, sounding like he was apologizing for something. His face softened and Nico still felt like throwing up, but he was so confused and relieved and he didn't know what he wanted to do anymore.

     "Will?"

     He smiled at Nico again and he hated how much he missed that smile and at the same time it sent him reeling because Will's smile wasn't the only one he was seeing. It had been years, but it felt like no time had passed at all. "Yeah," he answered, "how have you been?"

     Nico had barely muttered out a half hearted "fine" before his father spoke over him. "Yes, William, I'm glad you could finally join us. How is your family doing?"

     "They are doing very well. Thank you again for allowing me to attend in my father's place." Will kept glancing back to Nico, but he was ready staring down at his hands in his lap again, not wanting to look up, to meet his eyes again. He could feel Percy eyeing him as well, but he couldn't even bring himself to look at him, either. How could he? If he did, he would have to answer the questions he knew that Percy had for him, and he want ready for that.

     "And your brother? I hear that he is doing very well in school. Training to be a lawyer isn't, that correct?"

     Nico snapped his head up and toward his father. The man was already staring back at him. Staring him right in the eye while speaking to Will, and he knew what he was doing, of course he did.

     "Yes," he heard Will speak, "he is following in our father's footsteps. Clearly, I chose to follow on our mother's instead. It was difficult to convince my advisor to grant me an excusal from my med training for the week, but my father convicted him of this being of upmost importance."

     Nico could kiss Will for steering the conversation in another direction so quickly if his face wouldn't haunt his dreams. But of course, his father wouldn't have invited him to this dinner if he didn't wasn't something out of him, and it looks like was getting straight to the point that night, because he simply agreed that it was noble of him to follow in a career path that was so "vital to this nation's stability" before staring at Nico again.

     "Of course, I thought that both you and your brother would be in attendance tonight."

     Nico's heart stopped.

     "Well, Alex was urgently needed at home to assist father with a legal matter, so it will just be me standing in for his place."

     Nico wanted to cry, out of frustration, out of anger, out of disappointment, out of relief, he wasn't for sure but he knew it hurt and he didn't know how to make it stop. At the mention of Alex's name, he saw Percy snap his neck to stare at the side of his face, but he felt the intensity more than he saw it. He knew Percy deserved answers, but what was he supposed to do about it then?

     Luckily, or perhaps he should say unluckily, his father beat him to it, even if half the shit that came out of his mouth was a blatant lie.

     "Alexander was Nico's best friend back in high school. They were always together, but then between school and deciding on their future, they weren't able to spend as much time together as they used to, and then they stopped seeing each other at all. I don't know what happened to them, but I had always liked that young man. He was such s smart lad and always so nice to my boy, they got along swimmingly. You could never meet a better young man than that Alexander."

     Nico chanced a glance at Percy and he was unsurprised that he was glaring at his father, fists clenched tight in his lap and lips white with the amount of pressure he was putting on them. If people could express their emotions in a physical sense he was sure that Percy would be emanating a dark aura that so didn't match his usual personality. Now, the comical steam coming wafting off his skin, he wasn't certain if he was actually seeing that or if it was just in his imagination like the shadows surrounding him.

     Timidly, he reached out and placed one of his hands on top of Percy's clasped one on his lap, waiting until he switched his gaze from his father back to Nico to stare at him pleadingly. He couldn't deal with this right now, he couldn't, and he needed Percy to understand that. He tried to convey that all in a single look, and maybe they weren't intimate enough to be able to do that perfectly just yet, but he seemed to get the idea at least. With a single nod Percy relaxed his hands and schooled his face into a look of pleasant interest. His father didn't seem to be fooled by it, but at least it looked like that was one less thing he was going to have to explain later on.

     His father took a long sip of his wine and Nico was amused to see that Percy mimicked him, both of them staring at each other over the top of their glasses. He relaxed his elbow on the table and rested his cheek against his hand, squinting his eyes at Percy in mirth. When he put the glass down, Percy licked his lips at him suggestively. Nico wanted to stick his tongue out at him, but he figured that wouldn't be on the list of acceptable things to do while his father was in their company.

     Apparently resting his elbows on the table wasn't on that list either. "Niccolò, son, tables are for eating, not for your pointy elbows. Where are your manners? You come to New York for a few short months and you've already forgotten how to act with proper dignity?"

     Nico could feel his teeth grinding to a dust. "No, of course not, my apologies." His father's smug grin could probably power the entire Long Island sound with the amount of satisfaction he is feeling with himself. He wishes that he could just wipe it off his face with a fist or two or three, and he knew he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

     Their food came shortly after and he could tell by the way Percy's nostrils flared that he wasn't impressed, and he probably had no idea what half of the stuff was supposed to be. Percy was honestly the only thing that was remotely interesting about the whole affair. He refused to eat the "poor snails", thought the rack of lamb's ribs was a skeletal memorial, and was appalled at the idea of eating a dolphin, even after explaining to him that it wasn't the dolphin he was thinking about.

     His father was an asshole, just as expected, but somehow Percy made it bearable.When his father would comment on how he wasn't eating a lot, Percy would mention how it seemed that Nico always wanted to save room for dessert lately and that he didn't have much of an appetite for anything that wasn't sweet. Then when his father would look away perturbed, Percy would lean in close and whisper about how Nico was still the sweetest thing he ever tasted.

     When his father would mention Alex, after Percy flexed his jaw a few times, Percy would reach over and subtly rub the inside of his thigh or rest his hand on his knee. Perhaps he wasn't being as discreet as he thought, though, because Nico was pretty sure Will saw what was going on, but his smile wasn't sad anymore so Nico guesses that he's okay with it. Although, Percy brushing his hand over his crotch is a little too much, especially when he refused to touch him up until now. Nico gripped his wrist tightly and sent him a warning glare, but Percy just smirked and too his hand back. In all honestly, it could have been worse, by a lot. But it also could have been a lot better.

     Hades was constantly setting Percy up for embarrassment. He would look down on his job, his choice in career, his attire, and he even tried to start saying something about Percy's family. But Thanatos was quick to shut that down before Percy could. Nico was surprised Percy stayed as calm as he did through it all, but he knew he had to be seething on the inside.

     They had all just finished dessert, a big event of some fancy tiramisu that Percy thought tasted like burnt coffee grounds but choked down all the same, when Mr. Hermes announced his departure. "Hades, dinner was fantastic. I'm glad we could come to an understanding on the matter, as friends. I'll be looking forward to your business call first thing Monday morning so that we can sort out the final details together."

     Nico and Will follows cue when Nico's father stood up to shake his hand, with Percy shooting up after them. "Yes, Mercer, it was great seeing you again. Make sure to tell your wife hello for me, and expect a call around 7."

     Nico, Will, and Percy took turns shaking the older man's hand and afterwards, Will picked up his jacket from the back of his chair. "I'm afraid that I must be heading off as well. I have more business to attend to in the morning for my father and then I have a long flight back to California."

     Nico faced him full on for the first time that evening, standing tall and forcing himself to look him in the eyes, no matter how eerily familiar they were. He used to like Will, he used to like him a lot. Back when Alex was at host worst, Will would remind him of all the best qualities that Alex could possess. Now he knew that it was nothing but an act, but Will still had been one of his only friends back then, even if they only spoke to each other when Alex left him bloody and bruised and Will came to silently clean him up. He never asked him to leave his brother, maybe because he knew just as well as Nico did that it would be useless, but Nico could tell by the pity in his eyes when he looked at his pathetic body that he was thinking it all the same.

     He never had the chance to thank him, after all this time. It was never a good time and then he was gone, and he didn't regret hoping he would never see him again. But now he has his chance. Now he could not only thank him for helping him when hardly anyone else would, but also to tell him that he had finally found someone that he could trust, that loved him, or at least he hoped, and that he could stop worrying.

     Except his father was right there, watching them, and he couldn't. He was weak, too weak to stand up to his father, too scared to go against him. He was such a coward and the worst part was that he knew that he was going to do nothing about it. No, all he could do was nod his head at Will and hope that he understood, even a little bit. He was relying an awful lot on other people to interpret his facial expressions that night.

     Will clapped his shoulder a couple of times and turned to face Percy. "It was nice meeting you. You're lucky to have a friend like Nico."

     Percy held out his hand and they shook, both blinking at each other seriously. "Yes, I really am."

     The tension between the two gradually melted as they shook hands, and impossibly, it even looked like they were smiling at each other. Will turned to face Nico's father and say his farewells. Nico slapped Percy gently on the chest. "What was that about?"

     Percy brushed his hand against Nico's briefly before pulling away. "Nothing, doll. Just a mutual understanding between two bros."

     "You ever use the word bro again and I'm leaving you."

     Percy took a step closer to him and Nico glanced up at him with a smile, but it quickly slipped away when he saw how serious Percy was looking at him. "To leave someone, that would mean that they would have to be together, wouldn't it?"

     Oh. He want expecting that, he wasn't expecting Percy to be the one to bring it up, although he didn't think he would be the one to bring it up either, but now that it was here, out in the open, his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his throat and land in Percy's hands. Was he ready for that kind of commitment again, after everything? He didn't know, but his heart had already made its decision without consulting him.

     "Yeah..." He whispered back to him.

     His father cleared his throat behind them and they took a step away from each other once again. Hades glared openly at Percy now that the others were gone. "If you two will escort me to the front." Hades walked on ahead of them, but not without making his point by shoving his way between them to do so. Thanatos followed behind him and sent them both a small grin. Nico clapped his hands over his mouth when Percy made a face at his father's back, punching him in the shoulder when they started to follow after him. An old lady with a pound of pearls around her neck turned her nose up at their display, but Percy just gave her a charming smile and kept walking. Nico tailed behind him, but turned back after a few feet to stick his tongue out at her as immaturely as he could. If he didn't have the balls to rebel against his father hair yet, he could show that bigoted woman a little disrespect.

     His father was waiting for them at the front of the restaurant, standing by the curb most likely waiting for his car to pull up. When they joined him, he was hair waving goodbye to Thanatos as he pulled away in a car. Hades turned to grip Nico's shoulder tightly and stare at Percy over his head. "I'm glad you did what was best for you and drug your useless ass here this evening, it would have resulted in more than a head ache for me if you had not. Although I don't believe I mentioned that you could bring a guest."

     Percy furrowed his eyebrows tersely and opened his mouth in a grimace, but Nico pinched him in the side. "No, father, you did not. But I promised my friend that I would spend the evening with him before you called and requested my company, so I didn't see any harm in him coming along with me."

     Growling, his father let go of his shoulder and turned his body toward them. "Cut the shit, Niccolò. You brought him here to spite me, don't deny it. You've always been a cutesy thing, not man enough to inherit what is suppose to be yours. I'd give it to your sister, but it just isn't done. She is more worthy than you will ever be, but sadly she was born a girl when it should have been you."

     Tears were stinging the back of his eyes again, but this was an argument they have had countless times. "I shouldn't even have to deal with you anymore. I should have been done with you years ago, but it was your mother who was taken from me instead when it should have been you." He just wasn't used to it being in front of other people. His father thrived on keeping his image pure and clean from all possible tarnish, so why was he doing this now, in front of all these people, in front of Percy?

     Percy.

     Nico stared in horror as Percy pushed him back behind him and all but bared his teeth at Hades. "You have no right to talk to your son in that way. Nico is more of a man now than you ever thought about being."

     "Percy!"

     He grabbed at the fabric around his elbow and panted at him with wide eyes. "No, Nico," his father interrupted, "let the brat continue, please. He seems to have a lot he wants to say."

     Pausing, Percy turned to peek at Nico who was still trying to pull him back by his shirtsleeves. "Yes, I do." He glared back at Hades. "Nico is the most amazing person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I do mean pleasure. He has hopes and dreams and aspirations, and I know he is going to get whatever he wants out of life, I'll make damn sure of it. And despite everything that has happened to him, everything that you have turned your eyes away from, he has built himself back up. He is brave and loving and strong. And you, sir," he spat the word at him like a curse, "are a monster."

     For a long moment, there was nothing but empty, silent space between them. His father and Percy were staring at each other and Nico was busy staring back and forth between the two of them. He couldn't believe that Percy had told his father all of that, that was supposed to be his job. But...it felt so nice to hear. Hearing Percy call him amazing and strong, brave even, it made him feel better than he had in a long time, and Percy was doing an impressive job of making him feel better recently as it was.

     Then his father started chuckling, a smile on his face more sincere than Nico had remembered seeing it since before his mother was still alive. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way. I take it you love my son, yes?"

     "Yes."

     Nico let out a small gasp as he looked at Percy, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. They had never said that to each other before. Sure, Nico had thought it, but he had also thought it was way too soon to even be thinking about things such as that. And he definitely never thought that Percy could feel that strongly for him.

     "But does he feel the same way?" Percy looked at him with a confident smile, eyes shining with hope and trust. Nico looked back at him with wide eyes that he knew must be watering, but he didn't care because he felt like drowning again, drowning in the feeling of Percy's love pushing down on him, and his love bursting at the seams to meet him.

     "Niccolò isn't capable of love, not anymore. And even if he could ever possibly love you, I simply wouldn't allow it. He has responsibilities."

     Percy was listening to him, or Nico assumed he was, but he was too busy smirking at Nico like they were sharing a secret, and in a way, they were.

     "Isn't that right, Niccolò? Remember what your mother wanted for you?"

     Nico looked away from Percy's blinding smile and at his father in confusion. His mother? What did his mother have to do with this? All she ever wanted from him and his sister was for them to be happy.

     Hades curled his lips and continued. "Or, I guess I should say you grandfather."

     Like a faucet slowly being turned on, the slow dripping turning into a steady stream, a river meeting a lake and letting out into an ocean, streams now caught up in the waves, stuck in the undercurrents, he crumbled.

     He felt like everything was moving at half speed, like they were stuck in a fish tank too small to hold them and too big to let them breathe. Looking at Percy, he could see his confusion transfer to him, and his wonderful, absolutely beautiful smile, morphed into a perplex twist of his lips. "Nico?"

     A black car pulled up beside them, a driver getting out and holding the door open for his father, but Hades continued talking.

     "Yes, that's right, Nico. Go on and tell him."

     The tears couldn't be held back anymore as a single set mine rolled down his cheek, betraying him as he gaped at Percy, wanting to say a million things but only one thing would come out. "I'm sorry."

     Hades chuckled again and waved the driver away. "Nico, you'll be coming back to California at the end of the next month to continue college at UCLA, pursuing your law degree, no more of this silly literature nonsense."

     Percy laughed, a small huff that sounded half disbelieving and half uncertain, and looked at Nico with an incredulous smile. He was looking at him like he was trying to say, "can you believe this guy?" Nico just shook his head at him, not knowing what to say. He didn't know what to do, what was he supposed to do? When Nico still had yet to say anything, Percy dropped his smile altogether and frowned at him.

     "Nico, what is going on? Tell him about us, tell him."

     His father got in the car and closed the door, unrolling the window and smirking at them from inside. "Nico, I will be in touch with you later about the details. Mr. Jackson, it was wonderful meeting you, and I sincerely hope I never have the pleasure again."

     Nico nodded at his father and watched as his car slowly pulled away and watched it until it disappeared into the night among the other cars. He had no choice but to look at Percy then, and he hated that he looked so much like he did at that moment. Percy was confused obviously, and angry and probably scared, because Nico was feeling all of that but he didn't know what to do about it. His father was right, after all. He was weak.

     Biting his lip he called out to him. "Percy..." He hated the way his voice cracked, the way the sound of it sent another tear rolling down his cheek, and he especially hated the way that Percy seemed to mirror the action with a tear of his own.

     "You're just going to let him do that? Walk all over you? Let him control you like that? What about us, Nico? I love you! What about that?"

     Nico clenched his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously. "I'm sorry!"

     "So, you don't love me?"

     His eyes not open and he pushed hard against Percy's chest, shoving him with all of his might. "Don't you dare say that to me! How dare you say that to me after everything!"

     Percy wiped his hand down his face and let out a heavy sigh. "Nico, doll, you know I didn't mean it like that, but you have to know how it sounds."

     "No! Don't you 'doll' me! What am I supposed to do, huh? You just don't understand!"

     "What about stand up to your father?" Percy raised his voice again. "What about telling him that you love me and that you won't go? What about telling _me_  that?"

     Nico rubbed at his nose and cheeks until he felt red in the face. "You just don't understand."

     "Then make me, Nico! Explain it to me!"

     The voices were getting to be too much, they were echoing in his head, creating a cacophony of sounds that bounced off the walls in his head and exploded in the corners of his mind. He hated this, hated being this person, hated fighting, hated not knowing what to do, hated feeling confused and frustrated and pissed as hell that he doesn't have the balls to do anything about it.

     "I _can't_!" He yelled.

     Percy stared at him in shock as he screamed at him, and the sudden outburst got the attention of many of the people standing outside of the restaurant and walking down the sidewalks. Nico looked around in panic, seeing everyone stare at him, but it hurt most of all that Percy was looking at him like he didn't even know him.

     "So," Percy whispered, "you're choosing to follow your father?"

     Nico choked out a sob and shook his head at him sadly. "Percy, no...I just can't. You don't understand."

     Percy smiled at him and it broke his heart. "No, Nico, _you_  don't understand. I love you, and I know that you love me as well, even if you can't say it, and that's enough for me. But apparently it isn't enough for you. You may not be actively choosing him, but you know that's what you're doing by doing nothing."

     No, no, no, this isn't how the night is supposed to be going. They're supposed to go back to his dorm together and watch Attack on Titan and eat ice cream, laughing about all the stupid stuff his father said at dinner, and then forget the whole night and get lost in each other. He didn't know what was happening, he lost control of the situation, if he ever had control of it in the first place.

     "Goodbye, Nico."

     Terror spread over his body, paralyzingly him, leaving him to stand there and watch as Percy started to walk away, walk away from him. He couldn't believe he was just going to stand there and watch the one good thing that has happened to him walk away. No, he couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't.

     Feeling lead weigh his feet down, he lifted one foot and then the other, putting them ahead of him one step at a time, until he was running down the sidewalk to catch up to Percy. He barreled into his back, almost sending both of them down onto the sidewalk. Percy turned to steady them both, holding Nico against his chest, pressing his nose into his hair. Nico was sobbing, wailing without restraint right there in the middle of New York for everyone to see, and he didn't care.

     "Percy! Percy, Percy, Percy, please! Don't leave me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Percy. You just don't understand, you don't and I can't explain because I don't know how. I can't, Perce. I can't and I'm sorry! I love you! I do, Percy, I love you so much and it is terrifying. I'm so sorry!"

     Percy tangled his hand into Nico's hair and placed the other at the small of his back, hugging him to his body and rocking him as best as he could. "Sh, Nico, shush, baby. You're okay, I know. I know, okay? Sh, I got you, I got you, okay? Calm down, doll, this isn't like you. I know, I love you, too."

     They stayed there on that sidewalk for gods knows how long, just holding each other and crying, letting the people of New York duck around two crazy kids, madly in love and angry as hell, weeping on the sidewalk. When Nico did calm down enough to speak again, he sniffles and rubbed his face into Percy's chest. "What are we going to do? I have to go, Percy, I have to."

     He felt Percy's chest rise and fall underneath his head, a deep movement that resonated in his own body. "I don't know, Nico. But we'll figure it out. Together."

     Standing there in the middle of New York, a thousand people walking past them, Nico felt lost at sea. He was at the shore, the waves licking at his feet, pulling him in and enticing him into their embrace. He was lost at sea, tossing and tumbling in the middle of the ocean where the waves had carried them away to, but he was in a warm and loving embrace.

     For once, he was hoping that he stayed lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on Tumblr!   
> [joslushie](http://joslushie.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> This is not an accurate depiction of American college.


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